Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

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On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics:
A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World
An Evening of Music, Visual Art, Poetry and Readings

April 11, 2011: The day finally arrived. Nearly 400 people came out to an amazing program of visual arts, dance, poetry, music of many different genres—all celebrating revolution and the vision of a new world on the occasion of the publication of a powerful and potentially very popular new book, BAsics—a collection of quotes and short essays from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian.

People came in not knowing exactly what to expect—but wanting something different. As they walked through a visual arts exhibit that was vibrant... defiant... diverse... angry... hopeful... and joyous—there was an air of expectancy...

People experienced an evening of art that went at the themes of revolution and a new world in all kinds of different ways, with the words of Bob Avakian framing the four acts, and weaving in and out of the evening. Singers sent notes into the stratosphere and deep into your body. Powerful dance pieces pulsed with impatient energy. Soaring jazz solos took you way out of—and then sometimes way into—the everyday. A whole range of musicians let you move and feel to the rhythms (and words) of punk, funk, Latin, Indian, and '60s-'70s soul...

Short theatrical pieces and poems movingly evoked the different life experiences of people in this system. Hard truths about the history and present day of this system—along with penetrating questions to the audience—were put into stark imagery and poetic cadences. A collection of very powerful dramatic pieces and readings and speeches illustrated the span of Avakian's work and his connections to the '60s, to prisoners, to revolutionaries all over the world. Video clips of Avakian himself, from the '60s to today, introduced many to this leader and thinker, evoking a wide range of responses.

One person put it well: "I don't like to use the word inspirational, because it's so overused. But there is no other word to describe this."

This was art that would stay with you long past the applause—art that spanned a tremendous amount of expressive diversity, both in form and content. It was indeed a joyous celebration—and at the same time a serious, sometimes humorous, sometimes angry, often visionary and above all revolutionary delving into the theme of the evening that tied together each performance and shared electricity and emotion with the audience.

Afterward the lobby was a place of hugs, grins, high-fives and most of all excited conversation and just plain trying to take in with others what people had just been through. The artistic performances and everyone who took the stage this night, had together, shown not just that another world is possible... but also the outlines of a future where humanity could emancipate itself and flourish. And for an evening—and, potentially, for much longer—a new kind of community was formed.

A woman walked up to one of our reporters and said, "I want to introduce you to my new friends." It turned out she had met these new friends when she was trying to figure out how to get to Harlem Stage. Walking up the street, she noticed many others walking down the block holding the palm cards for the event. And so she went up to this one group of women, they all figured out where to go, then, once inside, sat and shared the evening together.

In the weeks to come, Revolution will be giving you more sights, sounds and reflections from this evening, from different angles. But right now, perhaps the most fitting thing we can leave you with is by echoing the thank you at the end of the program:

THANK YOU to the April 11 Host Committee, including Revolution Books, who made this event possible; to the artists and performers who made it provocative and joyful; to the Harlem Stage staff for all their assistance; to the numerous volunteers whose hard work and creativity brightened our present by making this program happen and provided a vision of the future world that could be; and most of all thank you to Bob Avakian, the author of BAsics, whose words provided the occasion for this night and whose compassion, commitment to humanity, and critical spirit has never wavered in the course of 45 years.

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

An Evening of Music, Visual Art, Poetry and Readings

Artists and Presenters

Derrick Adams
Aladdin
Wafaa Bilal
Herb Boyd
Guillermo E. Brown
Maggie Brown
Richard Brown
Raul Castillo
Carl Dix
Emory Douglas
Richard Duardo
Brian Dykstra
Bridgit Antoinette Evans
Skylar Fein
Alejandro del Fuego
reg e. gaines
Shelly Gaines
Kyle Goen
Guerrilla Girls Broadband
Steve Lambert
Moist Paula Henderson
Maluca (with backup dancers Oscar Wild and Sabel Boo)
David Murray
Wangechi Mutu
Abiodun Oyewole
Outernational (and special guest musicians)
William Parker
Ted Rall
Bryon Rogers
Dread Scott
SEN ONE UZN
Matthew Shipp
Tapsploitation (Jamaal Kendall, Brinae Ali, and Maurice Malcom)
Sunsara Taylor
Hank Willis Thomas
Nitya Vidyasagar
Cornel West

Production

Eddie Alsina
Leah Bonvissuto
Joan H. Cappello
Annie Day
Jeremiah Dickey
Sandy K
Tony Lepore

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

What People Are Saying...

A team from Revolution interviewed people in the audience at the April 11 program, to find out what brought them to the event and what they thought about the performances and the whole amazing evening. The following are brief excerpts from some of the people the team talked to. Thanks to all those interviewed and everyone who volunteered to conduct and transcribe the interviews.

Young Black man, artist/police brutality activist/educator

It was great; it was beautiful. I really liked the eclectic mix of different types of art, different types of artists, different types of expression; I especially liked the saxophonist [David Murray] going crazy, almost blew my brains out. It was amazing, it was a beautiful show of revolutionary artists and revolutionary expression out here, definitely a motivating night. Keep moving forward in the struggle.

I didn't know what to expect, but I always know that the Party brings out the hot shit, excuse me [laughs]. But it's always gonna be a good event and there's always gonna be good people, and you know I think revolution really brings out the most exciting art because revolutionary-minded artists are the ones who really bring it to that next level of breaking the status quo, and society-wise they are breaking with it, and artistically, and in all types of ways. So it's always a good time. I knew it was going to be good.

Latino man (translated from Spanish)

They began and they ended with a sound that encapsulated everything. The totality encapsulated in the sound, the saxophone and the mega-saxophone [referring to the baritone sax player Moist Paula Henderson]. Awesome. It was a show which really showed the unity of the people, the unity of the artists, a very well-done message, a very well-consolidated and very well-focused message about the need to make revolution, the desire to make revolution, and the possibility to make revolution, and it was also a very emotional thing—not only emotional, but also intellectual which provoked us intellectually and moves emotionally everyone that is here. And I hope that this book BAsics by Bob Avakian becomes the new Red Book of the revolutionary youth all over the world.

Black college student

I was interested in the letters from the prisoners. That was really interesting, because that's a serious thing, serious subject and topic that we should address. And the young man too, Alejandro del Fuego [whose message to the event was part of the program]. It's very interesting to see young people, teenage, early 20s, taking interest in that, because in my opinion, I think that a lot of people, they're too focused on materialism, and status and this, so it's good to see somebody who's thinking in a conscious aware state that's that young.

Young white man

Revolution: Part of the title of this event is "the vision of a new world." Do you get a sense of that, with all these different people coming together?

Absolutely. I would describe myself as a liberal. As to my thoughts on revolution as a concept, I am a practical man. I would have to think about the prospects of workability, and furthermore, what the new world would look like in of itself, which is one of the things I'm hoping these guys will explain to me at greater length, what exactly...what their utopia would be.

Revolution: It's a glimpse of a future—it's not the new world itself, we have to make revolution to get to that, but there are people here coming together, enjoying the night together...

I'm all for coming together and enjoying the night together regardless of social class. With this performance itself providing a glimpse, I would be inclined to like it.

Asian-American philosophy student

I've been interested in this philosophy, actually. But I've never really been involved in a political movement. So, it was pretty interesting, I thought. I wanted to see what it would be like to be with like-minded people.

It was interesting. It was a lot of fun. It was more like a cultural entertainment type event. And I wasn't sure what I was really getting myself into. But man, the four acts, it really went by quickly. So, it was good... I'm going to check out the [Revolution] bookstore, come to events.

Young woman

Revolution: Can you describe a little bit more of how you felt about the event?

It feels like hope. That's honestly what it feels like. Growing up I've always had these sort of ideals and then in high school I was really trying to push them forward and everyone would always try to shut me up or ignore me because everyone either dismissed it completely and said the system that we lived in was fine or just didn't want to get in trouble. But just being around everyone, and hearing and seeing, I just felt immense hope. This is just a small room and a small group of people, but in the wider America and the wider world there's people just like us. And the point is to connect and unite and to bring the word forward.

Student, NYC

Revolution: Can you expand on this thing of "You encounter things that you never encountered before"?

...I didn't know very much about Bob Avakian's life until today so this gave me an opportunity really to learn about him and find out who he was... And I am thoroughly impressed, and thoroughly involved with the way that sort of charisma that makes him readable. We don't want someone who seems tired. We want a leader that might be able to remind you of but...you want a leader that you can reach...and Bob Avakian has that charismatic personality where he can tell you this is what I believe on the world today and he makes it available and he makes it funny which is really difficult because it is really painful realities that rule, and he explains it in a way that helps you better understand the need for revolution and if anything makes you hungrier for it.

White woman, about 60, from New York suburb

I hope this begins something because I think that for the first time of all my life that I've been on this earth, I've never felt the helplessness I feel, because you can see hundreds of thousands of people marching and these politicians aren't doing anything—they're just doing what they want to do where people power was always at least a motivating factor to move people from A to B, even if they didn't agree, and that doesn't seem to be important anymore. They get into office, and that's it. And that's a scary thought. Because it's people power that did the civil rights, it did all those things. So where are we left...what are we left with now?

A compañero who is unemployed (translated from Spanish)

Look, first, I read the autobiography. And then... I have a lot of questions about white people, but I read it... I was into the part where he hooks up with Black people, with the Black Panthers. I met those people, I met Bobby Seale here at the time of the Young Lords. When I was 21, in the Bronx I heard him. Then, this kid, Avakian...OK, this guy, Avakian [laugh]...Avakian is my contemporary. But "he sounds right here." This is very important, he's very honest. And there's this thing that he has, he has a sense of humor. Yes, inside of his seriousness. The guy has a sense of humor. This is for real, a lot of older people don't. There's no hypocrisy. And then I was saying to myself, and this is coming from a white person. That's real hard to do. I was looking at him, analyzing him. OK, you know. I saw him in the "videotapes." What I see is this Avakian is "real," very "real."

Young Black man

Yeah, I got the BAsics book. Thinking about getting another, or maybe getting a different book.

Yeah, possibly for a prisoner. I heard that you can buy another for a prisoner for the same price.

A young Latina who volunteered to build for the event (translated from Spanish)

Yes. This book [BAsics] and other books, and also I have seen a lot of quotes in videos. On the web pages that are aimed at videos. He has more than 20 videos, the Revolution Books page, there is a particular video where he talks about how women are treated in this society. It's hard hearing him talk about this because it's true.

The different ways in which on a daily basis women are abused in society, whether due to crimes against them or the simple choice of living in a world controlled by men. There are so many ways to act and the world is not so free. And for me it was really a shock to hear it, but it's a necessary shock so I can be able to change what we are seeing.

Black woman

Revolution: What do you think about Carl Dix's message from the stage about getting into BAsics, and getting it out there in society...

Yes, I think it's important. And I think that, my generation, unfortunately, has become quite passive, and not involved and not active. I grew up in a very active, aggressive, progressive household. So it's difficult to be part of a generation that's not, that's lacking care and concern. But I guess it's gonna take someone like Bob Avakian to get the light under them, you know?

Black woman, college student

I was blown away. Blown away! I feel really excited about getting involved with the Party. Getting involved with the revolution. I came here already feeling that I wanted to be involved. But now I feel really, really motivated.

Revolution: Were there things in the event that were outside your expectations?

Absolutely. When I heard the gentleman from the Last Poets, I was blown away by his analysis of America. I was blown away by Richard Brown. I think it was Richard Brown that got me to realize the importance of taking action, taking constructive action, not just waiting around for some other person or some other group to get active, but to take responsibility myself to get active.

Revolution: Have you been able to get into BAsics yet? What do you think of the book?

Yes. I think that Bob Avakian has an incredible knack for taking complex ideas and breaking them down in a way so that they are accessible to regular everyday people. That being said, I read several quotes to students at my school. And as soon as they heard them, they started buying the book. It's hot.

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

April 11 Celebration:
What People Are Saying...

A team from Revolution interviewed people in the audience at the April 11 program, to find out what brought them to the event and what they thought about the performances and the whole amazing evening. The following is what we heard from some of the people the team talked to, before and after the event. Thanks to all those interviewed and everyone who volunteered to conduct and transcribe the interviews.

30ish Black woman

Revolution: How did you learn about the event, and what made you decide to attend?

Revolution: What were you expecting about the event? Was there anything that surprised you?

It was very surprising. The performances were... I learned a lot about Bob Avakian, who I did not know, what he was able to accomplish, and the fact that here's this white man doing all this work, that was very surprising. But it was very knowledgeable, and I want to, you know, become more conscious because of this.

They were, like...I was taken aback. Seriously, taken aback. These people did their thing on the stage, it was wonderful to see.

Revolution: What effect do you think this event will have, or hope it will have?

I hope it'll inspire more people to learn, learn more about the mission and what they're trying to accomplish, and help spread the word. I think it's a powerful message that you're conveying here. And I think it'll be great if more of society will learn more about it. Like, i.e., me, for example. If this hadn't happened I would not have known about this guy or what the mission is about at all.

Asian-American university student, studying philosophy

It's just an alternative, I guess. And I'm thinking that it might give me some answers, and it might provide something better than what we have now. I'm always searching for the truth, I guess.

Revolution: People have been out at various campuses a lot with this event, and other things.

Is that right? Yeah, you know, I got my head in my books, I go between library and class, I don't really hang around. So I was really lucky to have found this.

Revolution: Was there anything in particular in the program that really struck you?

Yes, I really enjoyed the, I think it was testimonials from prison, their reading. I thought that was well done. It was almost theatrical in a way, like a play. So I really enjoyed that.

Young Latina (interview originally in Spanish)

A very moving event. I thought it was well organized, because the book touches on different points and seeing so many people coming together to celebrate something, because really in the midst of so many things happening in the world, you have to get involved, you have to be part of the movement about what is happening right now. It's real great that so many people have come together here.

I'm trying to read it. I bought it yesterday and I've been real busy working on the event. And when I was in Revolution Books, I got a copy and started to read it, but I am real familiar with the author, Bob Avakian, because my dad was owner of a bookstore.

Yes. This book and other books, and also I have seen a lot of quotes in videos. On the web pages that are aimed at videos. He has more than 20 videos, the Revolution Books page, there is a particular video where he talks about how women are treated in this society. It's hard hearing him talk about this because it's true.

Revolution: After what you saw tonight, how do you feel about what you just talked about?

It not only was a show but given the unity in organizing the event and participating in it is a very positive experience in the face of the changes that are happening, but also what is coming into being.

A couple in early 30s

Woman: I thought it was exciting, great cultural event. It makes you want to read the book. That was the desired effect.

Man: It was exciting. It was one of the more exciting things I've seen from the Party. I would like to see more.

Man: Richard Brown for me. I just started to tear up when he came out, and I was just like, oh man.

Man: Diversity of people within the movement. I guess I've always seen rallies where it's just mostly maybe young students with older people on the fringes. But this was very diverse.

Woman: Diverse people within and also around—supportive of, not necessarily in the movements or in the Party.

Young white student

Revolution: How did you learn about the event, and how did you come to attend?

A friend told me about it. And I was interested, because I always think about things like this. So I just came to see what you guys have to say. And I liked it, I enjoyed it.

Revolution: When you say you're interested in things like this, what in particular about this event made you want to come?

Well, from the little bit that I knew about the event, it was basically about trying to see things differently, and trying to change people's minds about a lot of things that are happening right now. So that's what made me want to come. Because I wanted to see what other people had to think, and I wanted to see what other people around me had to think. So I figured it was a good place to come and learn. So I just came.

No, I never have. Which I'm really interested about, because I'm dying to see what he has to say.

It was great. I liked a lot of the arts, because I'm an artist myself so I really appreciate and I understand it.

I'm a dancer. So I like the fact that they were trying to send a good message, but also give a different side of it, which is the arts, so I liked it a lot, I liked the combination.

Revolution: Was there anything that defied your expectations, that you weren't expecting?

Not really, because like I said I'm already involved. I'm involved in learning and trying to seek different experiences. I'm always around stuff like this. So nothing was shocking to me because I'm already around it. But I'm sure I'm gonna learn some new stuff from this [pointing to BAsics]. I haven't learned enough, so I want to read this.

40ish Black woman

Revolution: What were you expecting coming into the event, and what do you think now?

I liked it, I liked it. I felt the ending could've been a little tighter, you know. But it was free style. I loved Outernational. I loved the singers, spoken word, everybody...I loved it all. Because I'm familiar with everybody. I loved it all.

I like him. I've always liked him. I've always felt that, you know, he's always been consistent. There's a lot of people...I mean, both my parents were Black Panthers. He's somebody who I've always heard about over the years and learned about over the years. He's always been consistent in terms of his views and in terms of the struggle. So, yeah, I'm a strong supporter of Bob Avakian, and he's a strong supporter of us. So I'm definitely...as they say in Facebook, like or unlike, I like him.

Revolution: What do you think about Carl Dix's message from the stage about getting into the BAsics book, and getting it out there in society...

Yes, I think it's important. And I think that,my generation, unfortunately, has become quite passive, and not involved and not active. I grew up in a very active, aggressive, progressive household. So it's difficult to be part of a generation that's not, that's lacking care and concern. But I guess it's gonna take someone like Bob Avakian to get the light under them, you know?

Young man

I was doing some research online, basically searching for the truth. I came across the Revolutionary news. Read a couple of articles. Once I read couple of those articles, it opened up my eyes. Once it opened up my eyes, it kept me searching for more. Because I was seeking the truth, I couldn't find it nowhere else. Continue seeking it, continue seeking it. Seek and ye shall find. I see, ok, there was a revolutionary rally going on. I said, perfect, this is what I want to be about. Because I feel that there is a necessary change that needs to take place. There's a cover-up that's going on. There's a big conspiracy that's going down. And it's right in front of our eyes. Our minds are kind of like mentally enslaved. So when I saw the opportunity to come to this place, I said, this would be an opportunity for myself to express myself also, in my creative abilities, that I see that the world needs to change, and my vision is also aligned with the vision of the revolutionary. However, I believe in god, and they're materialists. But it doesn't matter, because we need to come together for the cause of overthrowing the government that's here now, that's oppressing us, establishing a new government, and working out the kinks from there. Overall, I think this was an inspiring, liberating, and informing event that needs to take place more, and we need it more widespread, we need more exposure. This is what I'm here for. Because I'm here to align myself as an artist, as a younger generation, about the fight the power movement. Because it's not over. They try to say that the civil rights era, all of that is over. No, all of these guys had a bigger conviction that they stood for. And you see from the results of what they produced, what their conviction was. And I align myself with that, that's how I identify the purpose in that. I have a conviction also.

Revolution: In the event itself, was there something that really struck you or surprised you or inspired you?

David Murray. Incredible. This is my first time ever coming to a live playing. And I was just able to read the story in his head when he was playing, and it was just incredible. It was my first time experiencing it. It was spiritually uplifting. It was open, you know what I'm saying? Because I'm watching, and I'd never seen this before, and I'm able to play out his story in his head that he was playing 'cause he's telling a story in his music. So it was good.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Because myself, also, is a revolutionary. Like I said, Bob Avakian, he's been doing this for years. So he has way more insight and knowledge. I'm only 26 years old. He's been in it from the '60s, the nitty and the gritty. So he has more knowledge and insight than me. However, I wouldn't doubt myself, because we continue and improve every day. So if I could improve on what he has there, also contribute to it, I think that we have a prosperous future, that's what I say.

Young Black man

Unfortunately, I missed three-fourths of the performances. This is the third time I've missed Outernational. I've never seen them play. What I saw of the event was pretty good. I only caught three performances. Carl Dix, actually, his piece was pretty riveting. I like what he had to say. He was very clear about his message about people getting involved, which is, I guess daunting for a few people because they feel like they're going at it alone. And I'm sure that's something he went through, and many others in the struggle.

Yeah, I got the BAsics book. Thinking about getting another, or maybe getting a different book.

Yeah, possibly for a prisoner. I heard that you can buy another for a prisoner for the same price.

Young Latino dancer

I think the event was really amazing. An array of different artists, different genres of music and styles. I was part of Maluca, so I was dancing with her. So we kind of brought this tropical punk, sort of hip hop style to the event, which we're honored. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, we're here for a reason, revolution.

50-60ish Black woman

The whole idea of change. Positive change. I mean I'm a person who's always been involved in struggle.

Actually, I've been living in Washington, DC. I've recently come to understand that politics in DC is about positioning, ok? People just want to be in the position that they want to be in. And I came here...I didn't really know what to expect. But what I found was that the art was at a higher level than I expected, which was very gratifying to me because I'm a vocalist, and I was going like, ok, I wonder what this is gonna be—I'm gonna support it, but wonder what it is. So I was pleasantly surprised.

Probably somewhere along the line, I'm sure I had. Because like I said, I've been very close to the struggle. I was not in the Panther Party, but I certainly had friends that were, couple of close friends that were. And I worked closely helping the Panther 8 in New Haven, CT. So I'm sure his name crossed my path.

I bought it, yeah. I'm definitely gonna check it out. Try to understand what the movement is, then assess how far that it can go, and what it might need to take the next step.

Black woman college student

Revolution: Were there things in the event that were outside your expectations?

Revolution: Have you been able to get into BAsics yet? What do you think of the book?

I used 1 and 2 from Chapter 1 – America would not be America without slavery, and then he goes further to talk about the theft of land from the indigenous people, and imperialism, capitalism. And just his straightforward analysis—he's saying things that I already thought and believed, that I've heard my family members and friends say, but the talking heads, they never say these things. So just hearing it, plain, straightforward, has inspired me to say, you know what, that's what I was thinking, that's what I believe. And I'm not crazy, I'm not the only one. Now here's a group of people who feel the way I feel, I'm gonna get involved with them.

Revolution: Your experience of taking it out to other people is very important.

Absolutely. One of the things I'm very critical of...let's say of the civil rights movement...they sort of kept the movement to themselves. I don't think they really passed it on or got younger people involved in a meaningful way. I think that that's where...or I would hope that's where the Revolutionary Communist Party would be very different, in inspiring young people to get involved. And empowering young people to get involved and make whatever contribution they're able to make, to value their contribution, and allow space for younger people to come in.

Young Latino (interview originally in Spanish)

Revolution: We're here with a compañero who is visiting New York, here with his girlfriend. And we want to know how... what do you think about the program?

Well, I came here with my girlfriend in Harlem, to Aaron Davis Hall. And it looked real interesting to me. That's why we decided to come, um, to see. I didn't know there was an organized revolutionary movement here. And this was real interesting for me.

I liked the program a lot. I liked the poems a lot. They seemed real good and also of a high quality. And I think the purpose, the ideal is real good, the program and the music are also really great.

No. When I saw about the program, I decided to come. Look, I don't know much about Avakian, he seemed interesting to me, but I didn't know about him before... My girlfriend has given me some materials here and there, I think from the Internet.

Young woman

I'm loud mouthed and revolutionary and I'm incredibly optimistic and I try to do, you know, for the best.

I actually loved it. I enjoyed it so much because I have never actually participated in some sort of movement within the United States. And my family themselves, you could say they're communists or revolutionaries. It does run in our blood for sure. But within the context of the United States I've never actually been surrounded by a group people that believe the same thing that I do, so it's nice to hear people actually speak about it and just to have everyone together and be in support of this sort of movement.

Revolution: Can you describe a little bit more of how you felt about the event?

Revolution: So did this inspire you to think about dedicating your life to something?

Actually this didn't. I've been inspired already! I've been wanting to dedicate my life to this! And what this did was push me forward even more. I'm glad I came.

Two college students

Student 1: Last year we went to the dialogue between Cornel West and Carl Dix. And I ran into Carl and he told me about BAsics so I got in touch with you over at Revolution Books and I got some flyers and handed them out at school and promoted it on site. So, basically I just wanted to get people to be open to the idea of revolution. If you don't have a political base that's ok, it's about if you feel like...you're living in society and you have no idea what to do about it and at least these are people who have an ideal...

Revolution: Can you expand on this thing of "You encounter things that you never encountered before"?

Student 1: There was the gentleman from Last Poets – I forget his name... his piece blew my mind...the understanding that America's corrupt. We understand that but we don't really know the extent to which things have been done in this country. So the idea that these small Black communities—was it Alabama?—the government blew them up. And these are things that people never hear about. I mean, that goes into "the lies my teacher told me." I had no idea—they tell you one thing, but this is the real story. And it blew my mind because I had no idea, and I turned to my coworker and said, "Did you know about this?" And she said, "No I had no idea we're going to go and look it up." And that way people get educated and open their eyes. I didn't know very much about Bob Avakian's life until today so this gave me an opportunity really to learn about him and find out who he was...and I am thoroughly impressed, and thoroughly involved with the way that sort of charisma that makes him readable. We don't want someone who seems tired. We want a leader that might be able to remind you of but...you want a leader that you can reach...and Bob Avakian has that charismatic personality where he can tell you this is what I believe on the world today, and he makes it available and he makes it funny, which is really difficult because it is a really painful realities that rule and he explains it in a way that helps you better understand the need for revolution and if anything makes you hungrier for it.

Student 2: There are certain documentaries that when you watch them and you hear the music and you want to go out and do something right afterwards – or the next day. But, at least at the end of the day you get a sense that it can be utilized – there is no powerlessness there. We are all powerful in our own right.

Revolution: And did it make you guys actually want to take out...You know part of Carl Dix's message at the end was, Get in...and take this out to your friends?

Young Black man

I'm an artist and an activist on police brutality issues and an educator and a fire-starter.

It was great; it was beautiful. I really liked the eclectic mix of different types of art, different types of artists, different types of expression; I especially liked the saxophonist going crazy, almost blew my brains out. It was amazing, it was a beautiful show of revolutionary artists and revolutionary expression out here, definitely a motivating night. Keep moving forward in the struggle.

I didn't know what to expect, but I always know that the Party brings out the hot shit, excuse me [laughs]. But it's always gonna be a good event and there's always gonna be good people, and you know I think revolution really brings out the most exciting art because revolutionary minded artists are the ones who really bring it to that next level of breaking the status quo, and society-wise they are breaking with it, and artistically, and in all types of ways. So it's always a good time. I knew it was going to be good.

Revolution: Have you picked up BAsics, or did it make you actually want to pick it up?

I will definitely read it. I love to read and find new information. I had one quarter in my pocket when I came here and I donated all 100% of my money into the donations bin. So unless you wanna give me the book for my 25 cents, I can't get it tonight; but, I will be sure to pick a copy up.

Highlight, for me... I liked the letters from the prisoners. I liked the way that was done. The letters from the prisoners and the way they mixed it up like that. You know, all the artists were dope, but I especially like hearing the voices of people who are in the thick of the shit and really caught up in the belly of the beast and still really fighting towards revolution.

I think just the simple fact that people are behind the walls, and I know about the ban on the paper going into a lot of prisons. That's where a lot of people end up at regardless of if you're good or bad; that's not what puts people in prison. And people end up going to jail off of the basic needs that they aren't having met by society. And a lot of people don't really recognize what the problems are and who the real enemies are before they go into the system and see it first-hand. I really get inspired by people behind the walls bringing forward that voice.

Black woman

It was very well put together, it was fast-moving. The pace was great. It was entertaining. The artists were marvelous. And how it integrated the education and message with the art. It was very well done.

It was. It was not only a celebration, it was an education. That's powerful. It wasn't just a lecture. You could learn a lot. How you do it through music, through art. You remember more—I will... The Bangladesh story was marvelous. The poetry. The Avakian quotes from BAsics. And I bought the BAsics, and I bought the t-shirt.

White woman, rock music journalist

I thought it was great. I've been following Outernational, one of the performers tonight, for a really long time now. It's amazing for them to collaborate with a bunch of other artists on the stage for something they believe so wholeheartedly. It was a beautiful rendition of their song, so it was very nice to see them up on the stage doing what they love, and representing what they love.

Revolution: What did you think of some of the things that were being put forward about Bob Avakian and BAsics?

Well, I have to admit that I'm not very educated in this realm. So for me it was a very informative session, kind of a [laughs] basic session of ideas, everything that was underlined all night. So yeah, it was informative, a good basis to understand what people are talking about.

I knew about it a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago. But just through the band Outernational, so I was kind of expecting like a normal kind of musical performance. Then I realized about a week ago that it was a lot more than a music thing. Obviously it had to do with the revolution, book, like that. But I didn't know it was actually a collaboration with other artists and poets. So it was a surprise to have a variety of artists, diverse people.

Revolution: What about this thing about "celebration of revolution and the vision of a new world"?

Like I said, there was a diverse community of artists and people performing. It was a good way to celebrate because it touched upon all the ways that you can spread a message and get heard in the world, through writing, in poetry, speaking, music especially, dance—those are all very powerful forms of expression. I think it was a good way to celebrate and also to do what they had intended to do, which is either to get people to get curious about it, or people who were already informed, more into it and motivated to get involved with it. But for me, it was very much kind of an educational experience...so it was an informative and good night.

White college student

Revolution: Can you tell me what you thought of the program, what you took away from it?

Well, I didn't know the scope of the struggle. And it just made me more aware of what people have done, what the situation is, and where we're headed.

Revolution: Were there any performances in particular that really just etched something in your memory, delighted you...

Young white man

I thought it was fantastic. It was a mixture of lot of different cultural elements that I thought were progressive and cutting edge, and some things that were more traditional. Some things that were based on more pop music that were based on sort of like more standard folk music. With Outernational, had a more basis of traditional Chicano or Latino flavors but it was a little bit more modernized, had electric bass and stuff like that. The music was all great. All the musical performers were amazing. The one great thing about tonight, there's two characters I always love to see. I love to see Carl Dix, because he's a fantastic revolutionary. And the gentleman, Mr. Brown, the fellow with the dreadlocks. The gentleman who was the Black Panther. Richard Brown. He's phenomenal. He's been out here fighting this shit for 50 years. What he said was really inspiring. If we want to get this book BAsics out to people and we want to inspire a new generation of revolutionaries to get involved and get out active, this movement for revolution, that's not going to happen without the aid of older, wiser revolutionaries, you know what I mean? And to be able to see a collection of, a mixture of, old and young here tonight, that being sort of represented was really powerful and positive thing. It's good to see that we still have the asset of people that have so much experience, on our side, ready to bring that towards a new generation of people in conjunction with this book.

Young woman from Spain

All of them. I like all of them. All the readings. And the readings of the book, and the poetry, and the music...

Because I found the store, Revolution Books. It's near to my school, my English school. So I found the store, and I read about the event. And I like Harlem... And I thought, I have to go.

Revolution: What memories and emotions and thoughts do you think you're going to take away from this?

Hope. Sí, hope, yeah. I heard a lot of things that is always in my mind. A lot of things that I feel inside. So I was crying because I thought, look, I think the same way. And I think about this all the time. Yeah, it was very moving for me.

Latino musician/educator from Texas

Revolution: I was just wondering what drew people to the event, what people were expecting.

Well, I'm a musician. I used to live here in New York City... I actually was invited here to meet with [an] agent...about doing some work in France. But, I've been to Revolution Books a bunch of times, and it's part of this milieu. So after our meeting I am going to be staying for this event. I thought we were just meeting to talk about some business, and walk into this, and this is something which if I did live in the city, it would have been on my radar and I would have come here intentionally anyway... This kind of thing, it might happen every once in a while in Texas, but it's very rare, you know, just given the history of antagonism towards the left and progressive thought, and people organizing. It's a very hostile place. But New York is a very hostile place too, but there is a critical mass of people who keep the fires lit both on the organizational end and the artistic end, and institutions such as CUNY and this Aaron Davis hall. It's special that this is happening and we shouldn't take it for granted. As dark as things are, the fact that we can even get together and organize here and see what possibilities come of it is a profound thing.

No here. Yeah, some friends, actually my friend Paula Henderson is a baritone sax player who is performing tonight. We've played, and performed together a bunch of times. I read about the event on Facebook as well.

Two women from a NYC suburb

First woman: All I can say is that I was just totally blown away by the whole thing. I had never heard about it. So I had no expectations whatsoever what it would be like. But it was wonderful. And I feel enlightened by the book, that I'm going to read, like a bible, right? And this guy, Bob, I'm sorry I never met him. I really am. This "white boy." [laughs]

Second woman: When we were at the Schomburg for the Women's History Month, in fact it might've been the Maggie Brown show, people were handing out the notices about it. So we decided we would come. We were going somewhere else so we stopped at the bookstore and got the tickets to come here tonight.

Second woman: No more than what she does, the Black Panthers and all that. But I really believe this, that time is long overdue to do something, because it's not getting any better. And certainly looking like it's getting a whole lot worse.

First woman: I'm taking away the fear that if things don't change, if there is no revolution, then I pity the people that will still be here. I don't truly believe that revolution will come in my time, but I do believe it'll come in my great-nephew's time. He's nine. [laughs] Because, you know, it's going to take more people that have the knowledge of what's needed. I don't think it's here on a mass scale.

Two community college students

Student 1: I thought it was great. The ideas and all the performers were great. I especially liked Bengali storyteller, and the bass and piano player, those guys were my favorites. And that group, what was it, Maluca, with the two dancers and the girl in the middle. They were great too, I really liked that performance.

Revolution: Any thoughts and memories and things that you are taking away, that jumped out at you, that peaked your interest.

Student 1: I was talking before with one of the women taking donations. I really enjoyed the event and everybody in it. I just wish more people my age would come as audience members and get more involved. I feel like maybe like when older people speak of the '60s, and like past pushes for like social change, that they had such a much bigger young community that was able to go out and you know they had the time because they were either in school. Now it's just a couple of faces here and there, a little bit. I think I would like to know information on how to get people my age together to care more about the things that are going on in the world.

Revolution: Did you think the message from the young person with cancer during the program spoke to that a little?

Student 2: If it was done right, cause him and me already tried. People always look at me like I'm a little odd, a little weird because they don't live in that world. They live in a world that has nothing to do with thinking, nothing to do with things. They live in a world just trying to survive. So me and him try to spread the word, they look at me like I'm a little funny, like he's a little crazy.

Student 2: It doesn't. But like he said, it kind of bothers him too and a little bit. The only thing that bothers us is the fact that you don't want to hear, don't want to listen.

Student 1: And it's harder to stay faithful to it when nobody's giving you any positive responses, you know. I am still definitely for changes. I think we have to change. But I think the people my age, in my age group, they're not seeing the bigger picture. They are just seeing individual selfish ideas, and going to school for a career that's gonna make the money and not for helping people or helping the world in any way... I just wish I could be part of a generation that was for more, that had more input about what's going on in the world.

Revolution: Did the program give you any optimism? That that could be brought about.

Student 1: Yes, definitely. I saw that there's other people that, you know, care, that was my age...

A compañero who is unemployed (interview originally in Spanish)

Revolution: We're here with a compañero who has come to the event. We want to know how... You were telling me you are unemployed, but anyway you have come to the event. How did you hear about the event?

I heard about the event through a friend and on WBAI. It's a radio station out there, it's revolutionary and they are always announcing all kinds of events happening. Like professor Cornel West, and he is real interesting. Also there's the latest book that Avakian wrote, which is called the BAsics. I want to know if there is a summation of this book. If they are going to sum it up, who is going to sum it up. Everybody is talking about it. The thing is, you gotta check out a lot of things. Like the most basic thing for me is Marxism. It's a real right on point of view, it's real progressive...

Look, first, I read the autobiography. And then... I have a lot of questions about white people... But I read it... I was into the part where he hooks up with Black people, with the Black Panthers. I met those people, I met Bobby Seale here at the time of the Young Lords. When I was 21, in the Bronx I heard him. Then, this kid, Avakian... OK, this guy, Avakian [laughs]. Avakian is my contemporary. But "he sounds right here." This is very important, he's very honest. And there's this thing that he has, he has a sense of humor. Yes, inside of his seriousness. The guy has a sense of humor. This is for real, a lot of older people don't. There's no hypocrisy. And then I was saying to myself, and this is coming from a white person. That's real hard to do. I was looking at him, analyzing him. OK, you know. I saw him in the "videotapes." What I see is this Avakian is "real," very "real."

Black man, 67, recently laid off from a hospital

I had attend a filming at the Maysle's Cinema a couple of weeks ago. And I had met these brothers—they told me about this and had tickets, so I bought a ticket, that was two weeks ago...

Well I'd heard of Bob Avakian, but I had never really read anything. But then Cornel West...these jazz performers, it sounded like it was going to be a nice mix, and I'm excited about it.

Revolution: Yes, a celebration of revolution and vision of the future. What are you looking forward to the most tonight?

I'm just open to the whole idea of change and alternative. Because currently, I got laid off after 22 years at [the hospital], unemployed, getting Social Security... So, you know, I'm involved. I just turned 67 in January so it's time for me...

I'm looking for a wonderful evening of ideas and thoughts and communication, all of it. I will be digesting it all.

White woman with Gaza t-shirt, from a NYC suburb

Well, I'm a long-time activist from everywhere, South Africa, Chile, right on through, Indian Point, all over the country. So I'm constantly interested in ways to make this country better, and at this point I think that revolution is gonna be the only way that that happens.

Yeah, I heard of this event because I get the little news things from Revolution Books. So I get a weekly, or every two weeks I get a reminder about an event that's going on down there.

No, I live in X, so I go to very few of them, but you know, I like to see what's going on.

I read the whole statement. I was handed it at one of the demonstrations I went to, that two-page flier thing, and I totally agreed with everything that was said. Then I saw that it was like a celebration, and I felt like I needed a little uplifting since things are so bad lately...well not bad, but changing, maybe not bad, maybe good [laughs].

Revolution: Changing, that's for sure, but what direction, that's the question.

Yeah, that's the question... Anything that stirs things up is positive, so I'm glad about that. So I wanted to be part of the celebration, hear more about what was going on, and what options are being presented.

Black man from Boston

I came down specifically to see the show and the artists coming together at a very critical time and to talk about again, to try to beef up the hope machine, but the hope machine isn't gonna work out. This Party has the means to really inspire people, and raise the sights over the current one. There's basically nothing from the bourgeoisie. I think if we can get...we need to get people to inspire people and have more programs like this, and have a lot more discussion and dialogue, and do this through the newspaper and the website, and see what they can do to have something like this in other parts of the country and the world, really, cause the United States has nothing good for the world except for more, more poverty and more of the same. Obama or any other candidate frankly is indistinguishable from Bush or any other candidate and that's the way business is done. We need to have more programs like this, programs to inspire people, and really raise the bar.

The youth, the multicultural theme, and the artwork, and the dance troop, and the jazz, and Bob's immortal words, and how they are...how these inspire a new generation, to really get it out, that this movement cares about the people. It's really not a flash in the pan, fly by night... The system invites people in and then spits em out. This movement doesn't do that. This movement really puts people on the stage to get rid of this rotten system. Not just here but all over the world, with a world to win. And it's important cause we do have a world to win. We don't need to rescue the capitalist system. We don't need to regulate the capitalist system. We need to raise our sights and defeat the system. We don't need to collaborate with the people who run the system. It's not the way things are done anyway. They wouldn't want...the system wouldn't want people to change it. This whole thing about money is debasing and outrageous. This really raises the bar.

Anthropology student (interview originally in Spanish)

Revolution: Can you begin telling us what you do? You were saying you are a student?

I heard about the event through the bookstore, Revolution Books in New York. I'm interested in knowing how the event comes out, who comes, what they are gonna do, what they are gonna say. Things like that.

Revolution: What do you think about the atmosphere, the scene, all the artists, the mix of all kinds of people...

It's a gathering of artists. I think it's a good mix of artists, for different tastes and styles, tastes, etc. I think that the purpose is really very good, to bring all kinds of people to a very important event, which is part of a necessary process in this country, of opening the eyes of people, so they begin to think, and to think critically about the situation being experienced in this country, and all around the world, and of the possibilities and particularly the possibility that Bob Avakian talks to us about regarding a communist future.

Revolution: OK. Well, I can see you're already a bit more familiar with Avakian. What can you say about that?

Of course, I have read some of his writings. And I have seen some of his videos.

Let's see, the writings...Old Communism Is Dead... Long Live New Communism!, or something like that. Another is about religion, Away With All Gods! And the one that this event is celebrating, which is BAsics by Bob Avakian, which is a compendium of different statements that Mr. Avakian has made.

Victor Toro, Chilean exile and immigrant-rights activist who is facing deportation [see article about his case on revcom.us]. (Interview originally in Spanish.)

Revolution: Here we are, celebrating BAsics, and the revolution and the vision of a new world...

First, I want to thank you for this invitation because I have seen an extraordinary show, one more example that art and music are inseparable from the revolutionary struggle of the people and, well, for me this has been a great lesson. I congratulate the organizers of this show because this is joy, magic/song, music, folklore of the people. This is not something off to the side. You have to be committed to social demands, to the struggle of the working class, and to the ongoing revolution. So, thank you for having invited me.

Revolution: Thank you for being here, for what you have been doing all this time fighting for revolution to change all this for real. Now, what do you think about Avakian and his work?

Well, here is an example that in the United States, in the belly of the beast, as we call it, there are revolutionary organizations like the Revolutionary Communist Party, like these organizations which don't give any respite to imperialism, which fight it on all fronts, in the unions, in the hoods, in the street, and also through the music, through the different cultural, multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial expressions which exist here and which is united with the struggle of the people, the fight of the people who are marginalized here in this country, in the United States, which sooner or later we are going to bring about a process of liberation right here. You can't lose hope in this and I think that the struggle of the immigrants contributes to this whole process. And the struggle of the people who live in the hoods which is where we work like in the South Bronx, is also a contribution to the big process of liberation which sooner or later will have to rise here in the belly of the world.

Latino (interview originally in Spanish)

They began and they ended with a sound that encapsulated everything. The totality encapsulated in the sound, the saxophone and the mega-saxophone. Awesome. It was a show which really showed the unity of the people, the unity of the artists, a very well-done message, a very well-consolidated and very well-focused message about the need to make revolution, the desire to make revolution, and the possibility to make revolution, and it was also a very emotional thing, but not only emotional but also intellectual which provoked us intellectually and moves emotionally everyone that is here. And I hope that this book BAsics by Bob Avakian becomes the new Red Book of the revolutionary youth all over the world.

Revolution: Given that you've read some of Avakian and know more about him, what do you say about tonight, what are you going to take home?

I'm not going to take the new book, because I have already read it and I have heard what is talked about, what is said in the videos of Avakian, in the words of Avakian, I have already heard them, I already knew them, what they talked about in this event. But what I'm taking home is a little history, the contribution of Bob Avakian with some videos that they showed with Bob Avakian and his youth in the '60s when he was in the struggle against imperialism which had invaded Indochina and Vietnam and it was massacring innocent people and throwing innocent people in jail who were against that imperialist war and knowing that this guy has been not only dedicated to the revolutionary movement for more than 35 years but also seeing other participants in the revolutionary movements in this country, which is like a treasure and seeing older folks standing up and telling the youth, "It's time that you 'step up,' that you rise up, that you take the lead of the anti-imperialist revolutionary movement." Because as they said, there is nothing else in life that is worth more than being a revolutionary to take humanity to a better place.

Revolution: How did you hear about the event, and why did you decide to attend?

I heard about the event through people involved with the production side of it. Most notably the director, who convinced me to come.

She just started telling me about it. Really what sold me in a big way, I guess, was the acts, was who was coming, different performers and the bands. I'm in the performing arts, and I was intrigued by seeing that part of it, in a big way.

Revolution: What's your reaction to the description of the event—a celebration of revolution and the vision of a new world?

Well, I did get a copy of Bob Avakian's book, but I haven't read it yet, before the event. But I did get a copy of it, and I guess this is my precursor to reading it. I hope when I leave tonight I'm excited to go home to read it.

Well, I'm expecting a celebration. I'm expecting a party. I feel like a lot of times with revolutionary politics, people can get bogged down in negativity, bogged down in, like admittedly incredibly huge crisis that confronts any left-leaning and forward-progressive moving group. So what I'm looking for tonight is a celebration of unity and a celebration of a commitment and a re-commitment to those goals, you know, in the face of overwhelming odds.

No, I was not familiar with Bob Avakian's work, which is why I got the book. My understanding of like the philosophies behind communism and socialism is pretty...I mean, I've taken socialist theory in college and I've done some reading. But honestly it's been a while since I've engaged actively with left-leaning philosophy, left-leaning politics.

Immigrant compañera (interview originally in Spanish)

Revolution: We're here with an immigrant compañera who studies and works. We would like to know what you think about the event.

It was great, awesome. You can definitely sit down and see all this talent, all this culture. In particular the book by Bob Avakian. I want to say it's a very interesting way to introduce a book. I think that everyone who was here are definitely people who believe in Bob Avakian and in revolution and this is another chance to be here and go out and grow more and distribute the book to be able to get to revolution.

College student

I heard about it through people from Revolution Book store, who had presented it to our class. The class focuses on African American and Latino diaspora in America. So that's how I heard about it.

As a matter of fact, all of the class is here, it's kind of like a trip, a field trip.

Revolution: Aside from this being a class outing, what's your interest in this, what are you expecting?

Well, I'm not sure what to expect, honestly. I'm not entirely familiar with the whole movement. But it sounds really interesting, so I want to come experience it, get some information and educate myself.

Revolution: Well, the title of the program says "celebration of revolution and the vision of a new world." Is that something that attracts you, a possibility of a whole different world from what we have now?

It certainly is. It's not impossible, I don't know how to get there, but I see that obviously there's some kind of movement. The information is there, the people are working. So I just want to get some information and try to contribute in some way, shape or form. But honestly, this is like my first event. I've never been exposed to the whole revolutionary party or anything like that, so I'm really new to everything.

Black college student

I saw a flyer at a local restaurant, around the college, when I was going out for lunch one day.

Well it seemed interesting. I looked at the topic. I looked at some of the speakers, and I decided that maybe I should check it out.

Well it seemed more about celebration than merely about grievances. And I tend to have a pretty positive point of view. And I also wanted to come to a place where there would be other people who had a similar perspective on things. So you know, I hope to come and interact with different people and see different things I thought were cool.

Revolution: Did you know anything about Bob Avakian before this? The event is on the occasion of the publication of his new book, BAsics.

I have a vague recollection of the name, even though I'm not really familiar with much of the work.

White woman college student

Revolution: Tell me how you came to learn about the event and why you're here.

One of my friends saw the posters in on the campus, they're all over the place. We're doing an open-mike/poetry event on the 27th, so my teacher actually gave me the money to come to this event so I could see, because I've never actually done a poetry event before. But this is really cool. Like the whole revolutionary thing, I don't know much about it, but I'm willing to learn. I think it's really interesting.

Not really. I'm generally interested in a lot of things. This is just so cool, they're having a whole event, just to have people learn about it. To have a lot more people know. Because I'm sure a lot of people on the campus don't know anything about the book. But now we've seen the posters all over the place, and some of us are coming here to check it out, see what's going on.

White woman college student who was volunteering at the Revolution Books table at the event

Revolution: So how did you come to learn about the event, and not just come to it, but to volunteer here?

OK, I'm a student of International Studies at X College. One of my professors kind of connected us with A, B, and C, and they visited our class two or three times and spoke to us about this event and other events. They showed us copies of Revolution newspaper, and they sold us our books for the class. So it's just been a little bit promoted through the last couple of weeks, both in my class in particular and throughout the college. I went to buy my ticket for the event from A, and A said, "would you like to volunteer?" And I said, "that sounds great." So I volunteered.

Absolutely. So in International Studies we talk about, why does the world work the way it does, and what are the reasons for it. What can we do to change or make it better. And I think that this event was something that drew me just because it... the word "revolution" is just such a great word. Such a huge word. I think that what they're trying to do here is a really important thing. Just to encourage young people like myself to get involved, to give us a voice, let us know that we can have a chance to make social change—is really important to me. This idea of imagining a world without America is really important to me. Not important, but rather interesting, because as an International Studies major I'm always trying to think of things with a different perspective than the American perspective. And so I think that learning how to change our system in America will help the world move to a better place.

Revolution: What do you think so far, of being here at the Revolution Books table, and interacting with the whole crowd here?

It's been really fun, and I think that's really the most important thing, to make these important issues something that we want to think about and something we want to do, and make it fun and interesting through art and poetry and music. There's no better way to express ourselves. And if we're moving towards such a big change, then we should do it in the most fun way possible. And that the thing I've learning most from the people from Revolution Books, is just to make it fun, and care.

A theology student

I think the words in the title of the event, Revolutionary Communist Party. Basically that's what got me interested.

Revolution: How did it interest you? You're wanting to change the world, and this is something you wanted to check out?

Uh, I felt...it reminded me of sort of old school movements that were very figurehead-based. I felt a little Scientology at times, I don't know if that makes sense, the way to describe that. But the sort of the culture of the hero, the leader—that was a little off-putting. But other than that, it was very great. The music was beautiful, the poetry was amazing. And I've never been to a place that seemed more friendly. As soon as I came in here, there were 20 people greeting me, so it was really nice.

Iranian-American in his 20s

Revolution: How did you learn about the event, and why did you decide to attend?

Well, I heard it from a friend, she's attending NYU, she told me about it. So I came along because where I'm from, we're going through a revolution, so...

No, no, I'm a musician. Just attending to see what it's about, that's all. Because I came from...that time, it was the heat of the revolution. I had a lot of friends that attended marches and all the breakouts, and getting arrested, going through all that. It's just like a flashback again.

Revolution: Had you heard about Bob Avakian before? There was the part of the program where there was a reading of the poem by an Iranian revolutionary about Avakian.

Yeah, yeah, I heard that part. And it was really good for me, as half Iranian, half American, to hear that Iran is being considered, you know, as part of this. It was really interesting.

Not really, I couldn't really bond with it because I had no information on it. But it was interesting. The poetry was interesting, yeah. Especially the guy, I can't remember his name, the guy, he came from India, had an Indian family and lived in Harlem?

Black college student

A gentleman and a young lady and another gentleman came to a class I was having... They did a presentation, they had handed flyers out. They recommended that it would be something for us to check out.

Yes, Bob Avakian, Mr. Avakian. And they actually gave me a sample of the CD. And I listened to that. And actually, a lot of things that he's saying on there are things, subjects, that I've heard about and have some interest in. And somebody says "revolution," you know, it kind of piques your interest. You wanna know what they're really talking about, what they're going on with.

Revolution: So from what you've learned so far from tonight and from things you've been reading and hearing about this revolution and this leader, what are you thinking?

I think I'm still in the learning process, and just trying to learn some more, take in as much information as possible. And from there, I mean, I'll see where I would go. But as I said, I want to just see, take in some more, learn some more, and see what takes with me, what avenue I want to go down on. If there's a role for me to play, whatever role that I wanna play or however I would pursue it, anything I would want to do.

It was pretty good. Actually, I caught half of the first half. I'm coming in from work. But it's very inspiring and very interesting. I'm enjoying it.

I was interested in the letters from the prisoners. That was really interesting, because that's a serious thing, serious subject and topic that we should address. And the young man too, Alejandro del Fuego. It's very interesting to see young people, teenage, early 20s, taking interest in that, because in my opinion, I think that a lot of people, they're too focused on materialism, and status and this, so it's good to see somebody who's thinking in a conscious aware state that's that young.

Black man, veteran of the '60s who rode a bus from Houston with BA shirt to come to the Harlem event

Revolution: Let me start out asking you why you came to this event, what made you think you really had to be here?

Well, I think the world is on the brink of ultimate destruction and this might be the light that save humanity, a different way, a different solution... people with different ideologies, based on human life instead of money and wealth and all this, preserving mankind. I mean this whole convention I think is one step on preserving life on the planet with, you know, people saving the planet.

Revolution: What do you think of the name of it, "A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World"?

I think the vision of a new world to me is redistributing...or a redistribution of the wealth of the world. A new world where the wealth and prosperity won't be in the hands of just a few people, a very minute minority. Whereas everybody in the world can have a share in the planet instead of just ownership by corporations, big businesses and stuff like that. A redistribution of the wealth of the world. That's it.

Revolution: What have you learned about Bob Avakian before this event? This event is celebrating on one level, the publication of BAsics. Have you read much of it?

Most of it, his writing, his speeches. He is a very charismatic leader, he know all the words, and he is saying them with people beginning to wake up, and I am just thankful to be a part of this movement... It's not about individuals, or wealth, or accumulating billions and billions of dollars for 30 or 40 years. It's not that type of movement. It's for working people, union, organizing, young people, working people, life for everybody, animals, plant, all kind of life. I think in these days and time, brought about this movement. I am here to help it out. I am really looking forward to it.

Revolution: Somebody told me that when you came to New York, you went to a church where the event wasn't at, and they directed you here. You really wanted to get here.

I traveled by Greyhound bus all the way, and I went to the church, and some people around there told me they would walk me over to the location, and help me find out where it was and told me to be careful and all that, don't talk to strangers and all that kind of stuff. I could come stay with them. It was very good.

Young white man

Revolution: So here we are at intermission, you said you were enjoying yourself...

I am enjoying myself. The member of the Last Poets who did his recitation, I've been an admirer of the Last Poets for a long time. I find a lot of their stuff inspiring, it's a total godsend just to happen in to a place where he drops in. I recently attended an anarchist demonstration down around Washington Square Park. And while I admired their fixation to their cause, they struck me as ineffectual, because the art with which they presented their cause was not particularly good, rather sub-par. These guys are consummate artists, the ones that performed so far. The dancers and musicians all have a great deal of technical skill. And due to that, their message comes through much more clearly, which is admirable.

Revolution: What do you think about revolution, and about communism, and this communist leader, Bob Avakian?

At the anarchist fair I was at yesterday, I was actually hearing a lot of people bash him and his followers. I myself don't know a great deal about the anarchist scene. I'm a self-professed hedonist for the most part and have not strayed into politics much in my life. So I would withhold any judgment until I learned more about everyone's side of the argument. I'm not inclined to listen to bashers. I'm not inclined to listen to anything until I know a great deal about it.

Revolution: Part of the title of this event is about the "vision of a new world." Do you get a sense of that, with all these different people coming together...

Revolution: It's a glimpse of a future—it's not the new world itself, we have to make revolution to get to that, but there are people here coming together, enjoying the night together...

I mean I'm all for coming together and enjoying the night together regardless of social class. With this performance itself providing a glimpse, I would be inclined to like it.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/get-connected-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Get In... Get Out... Get Connected

On April 11, A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World—On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics—brought to life a different way to think and to feel, and to be. This revolution and the vision of a new world came to life that night, as works of art interacted with the words of BAsics. Now is the time to seize upon this incredible real thing and to realize the potential the words of Bob Avakian have to change how people think and act in the world. Toward the close of the evening, Carl Dix called on the audience to just do three things: Get In, Get Out, and Get Connected. And it is up to us—all of us—to take up this call.

Get into BAsics! This book speaks to—and strikes a chord with—many people, coming from different places and with widely different perspectives. This book is for everybody who is straining to understand why the world we live in is the way it is, how to change it, and who dreams of a new and far better future. Everybody. Read a little at a time—maybe just one quote—and think; or read a lot. Discuss the quotes and essays with your friends and neighbors, colleagues and fellow students.

Get BAsics out into the world! As you read and discuss BAsics—as you "get into" it—get it out to others. A movement of people around this book is urgently needed for it to find its way into the hands of all those who long for another way. And all those who have been touched by this book need to join in. There are the ways and means for everybody to be a part of the effort to get BAsics out. As you read this book, think creatively about who to get it to. And how to reach anywhere where people are moving to change things—or even just discussing the state of society and the world.

Join with others in taking it to bookstores, writing reviews, and publicizing it broadly by printing up and passing out the palm cards, posting signs in store windows, and spreading the word of this book on the Internet. (See box.)

Organize a BAsics group! Get together each week on the same day, pick out a quote or essay and discuss it. At the end of the day, or an activity, select a quote or essay, read and discuss it together on your campus, or with your friends and co-workers.

Get connected with this movement for revolution! BAsics is a book which can awaken many thousands to another way to look at the world and the possibility of a new and far better future, as the Red Book of Quotations of Mao Tsetung did for the '60s generation. And BAsics is a book which will bring the basic work of Bob Avakian to many, many people—and make this revolutionary leadership known broadly in society. It is a book which can train a new wave, a new generation of revolutionaries. And that will change things!

A critical part of being connected to the movement for revolution we are building: Read, subscribe to and spread REVOLUTION newspaper—that shows WHY things are happening... HOW it doesn't have to be this way... and gives people ways to ACT.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/May-First-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

On
May 1st, 2011...

May 1st is the holiday of the international proletariat, a day to boldly put forward our aims of revolution and communism. It is time to both celebrate and to step back, to take stock and to lift our sights even further. A time of struggle and of celebration.

2011 has already witnessed major upheaval in the world. People have heroically stood up, and resisted repression. The hopes of millions have been raised, and questions have begun to sharpen about what will be required to realize those hopes. Bob Avakian's statement on Egypt speaks to this—extending heartfelt support to the millions in the uprisings and challenging those who would see the uprisings lead to liberation to take up the science of communism and build communist organization among the masses. These are key questions of the day in the whole world.

May 1, 2011 also comes right on the heels of the publication of BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian. This book can play a major role in guiding thousands at first, and then millions, to dig into and answer those questions, and to provide a handbook for revolutionary practice. May 1—and the whole week leading up to May 1—should this year feature, as one key part of the activity surrounding the holiday, creative promotion of BAsics.

BAsics read-ins and readings should happen on the streets, in coffee shops, on campuses, in community centers, at farmers' markets... There should be posters for BAsics up wherever it is appropriate to post them. The political terrain should be enlivened with Bob Avakian image cards in places prominent and unexpected. Wear revolutionary T-shirts—with the BA image, the new BAsics shirt or the Revolution newspaper shirts. The poster of Bob Avakian's "3 Strikes" quote, from the back page of Revolution issue #229, should be a big part of the picture (available for download as PDF at revcom.us).

Powerful and provocative mobile displays of images from the RCP's Message and Call—which many revolutionaries printed and used in taking out the Message and Call when it was first printed—should be used building up to and on May 1st, along with enlarged quotes from BAsics (PDFs of quotes from the back pages of recent issues of Revolution are available at revcom.us).

On May 1st itself, there should be grand celebrations—with culture and food—and creative and militant manifestations for revolution, communism and a whole new world.

Then, on the weekend following May 1st, teams should gather up and get the revolutionary message out to Cinco de Mayo celebrations, along with protest marches by immigrants or in support of immigrants rights if they are taking place, along with other gatherings and events where people who want change may gather.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/229/wcw_event-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

U.S. Empire
Islamic Fundamentalism
Both Deadly.
IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

Wednesday, April 27 6:30 pm
Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 W. 12th Street, New York City

Revolution received this notice of an important conference on April 27 in New York. A conference like this, at a time when people are beginning to feel constrained by the status quo and the "choices" offered by the current political landscape, and are beginning to search for other roads, can be of great importance.

A diverse group of artists, scholars, and political thinkers including Wafaa Bilal, Laura Lee Schmidt and Sunsara Taylor, will engage the question:

"If you are troubled about the state and direction of the world…if you are repelled by both the arrogant assertion of empire by the government and leaders of the U.S. and the fanatical backwardness of Islamic fundamentalism, what should you be doing?"

Uprisings in the Middle East have given renewed hope to many. But the U. S. continues to rain down death on the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and occupy Iraq, seeking, with its European allies, to dominate Libya through military intervention. Islamic fundamentalism, presenting itself as an "alternative" to Western domination, puts a brake on the radical aspirations of people, especially women.

Come and be part of the conversation about alternatives to these two unacceptable options – in a world crying out for fundamental change.

Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal, an Assistant Arts Professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, is known internationally for his on-line performative and interactive works provoking dialogue about international politics and internal dynamics. Bilal's work is constantly informed by the experience of fleeing his homeland and existing simultaneously in two worlds – his home in the "comfort zone" of the U.S. and his consciousness of the "conflict zone" in Iraq.

Laura Lee Schmidt is the East Coast Assistant Regional Coordinator for the Platypus Affiliated Society and an editor of the Platypus Review. She gained her master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and will continue her graduate work as a PhD student in Harvard's History of Science program.

Sunsara Taylor is a writer for Revolution Newspaper, a host of WBAI's Equal Time for Freethought, and sits on the Advisory Board of World Can't Wait. She has written on the rise of theocracy, wars and repression in the U.S., led in building resistance to these crimes, and takes as her foundation the new synthesis on revolution and communism developed by Bob Avakian.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/199/socialist_principles-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Some Key Principles of Socialist Sustainable Development

The following are some key principles of socialist sustainable development, which appeared as part of the special issue of Revolution newspaper on the environment (Issue #199, 4/18/10, revcom.us/environment). These principles, though not exhaustive, concentrate an orientation that enables socialist society to begin to tackle the environmental emergency with a global and internationalist perspective. In putting these principles before people today, we hope to open up debate and discussion that can contribute towards raising understanding of what we are confronting—and raise sights about the viability and desirability of communist revolution.

A. The International Dimension and Internationalism

The socialist state must use its strengths and resources to promote revolution. The new socialist state must be a "base area" for the world revolution. The emancipation of humanity demands this. The preservation of the planet demands this: for humanity to deal with the environmental crisis on the requisite scale and with the requisite urgency requires a totally different economic and social system and set of values. That requires socialist revolution and the spread of that revolution.

The new socialist society will put the interests of the preservation of the ecosystems of the entire planet above its own national development. It will encourage and give scientific, technical, and organizational backing for bold international initiatives to prevent widespread ecosystem collapse of coral reefs, rainforests, critical savanna regions, etc.

The new society will share scientific knowledge and technology with the rest of the world. It will contribute research to aid other parts of the world in dealing with various aspects of the environmental emergency—for instance, helping populations in low-lying poor countries deal with rising sea levels and flooding resulting from climate change.

Such initiatives will require unprecedented planet-wide cooperation of scientists and others, engagement of diverse populations and systems of governance, and the involvement of local communities. And the socialist state will seek to learn from the experiences, insights, and struggles of people around the world.

But for such initiatives to be truly effective and take hold over the long term, more of the world will have to break out of the capitalist stranglehold. Capitalist growth and development lead to massive environmental degradation. In the face of economic dislocation and societal breakdown, impoverished and desperate populations in vast parts of the world resort to environmentally destructive activities in order to survive. Civil wars fanned by the imperialists ravage land and water resources.

All of this emphasizes, again, why the new society must spread socialist revolution as far and wide as possible—and as fast as possible.

In its international relations, the new socialist society cannot be based on exploitation and plunder.

A revolution in the former United States will put an end to the pollution-intensive, cheap-labor, global manufacturing grids of production. The structure of production and the resource base of a new socialist economy will no longer rely on labor and materials from other countries—like cheap parts from hellish factories in Mexico and inflows of oil from abroad. The new society will provide technical and financial assistance for helping to clean up environmental damage in other parts of the world caused by the energy and mining operations, agribusiness and forestry, and industrial activities, as well as the export and dumping of toxic waste, of the former U.S. empire.

The new socialist state will immediately dismantle all military bases and occupations. It will vastly downsize the military industry and begin to convert huge components for productive, social use.

B. Consciously Planning and Regulating Growth; Protecting and Preserving a Variety of Ecosystems to Prevent Environmental Collapse and to Ensure the Health of the Planet for Future Generations

In place of the blind and environmentally reckless expansion of capitalism, a socialist sustainable economy will seek planned, regulated growth informed by:

This overall orientation will not only influence the specific mix of what is produced and how it is produced in the new socialist society. This orientation will influence levels of output, including decisions to consciously restrict or cut growth in particular sectors contributing to climate change and straining the planet's ecosystems, and curbing the use of certain resources that are dwindling.

C. Transforming the Structure of Industrial Production, Agriculture, and Transport

The new socialist society will set out to transform the environmentally destructive structure and functioning of today's imperialist economy:

D. A Different Kind of City and Social Fabric

Given their privileged position in the global division of labor, the imperialist countries have evolved in a certain way. Their economies, and where people work and live, depend on high levels of mobility, the automobile complex, and long-distance, energy-intensive supply chains.

The system of production in a sustainable socialist economy cannot be focused on this kind of supply and delivery system. It must aim towards a system of interchanges within local and regional economies functioning as part of a unified socialist economy.

Cities must become more sustainable—more capable of producing more to meet basic needs and requirements, including efforts to develop local urban food production. The huge and wasteful consumption of energy associated with the parasitic commercialization of the contemporary city—office structures serving global financial invest-ments, advertising, insurance, etc.—will be transformed. The kind of intensive and speculative commercial and residential development encroaching on "green spaces" in the areas outside of cities, in suburbs and "exurbs," will be put a stop to.

Economic-social planning will strive to connect work that is meaningful and creative with people's sense of community—and forge new relations between work and where people live. Planning will seek to create a new kind of "social space" in the cities, where people can interact, organize politically, create and enjoy culture, and relax. At the same time, planning must seek to break down the distinctions between the cities and the outlying suburban and rural areas—and find new ways to integrate the economic and social activities of these adjoining regions.

E. Struggling Against Consumerism

A sustainable socialist economy in the former United States will strive to produce a rational variety of consumer goods. But this will not be the same "consumer society" (it would take the resources of almost five earths if the rest of the world had the same ecological footprint of the average person in the United States).

The "convenience" of having Indonesian workers cater to the athletic clothing needs, or peasants and plantation workers in Kenya and Jamaica catering to the upscale coffee sensibilities of people in this society—that will be no more. The "convenience" of the "Wal-Mart price," based on super-exploitation and environmental damage abroad, will be no more (and Wal-Mart will be no more).

Consumer goods must be functional and durable (not the "used once and thrown away" of today). Society will pay attention to changing demand, taste, and aesthetic. But there will not be the same obsession with private consumption, with the need to define yourself on the basis of what and how much individuals own and consume. This will be a matter of education and ideological struggle in society.

With the transformation of social life—with the creation of more "social space" allowing for richer and more meaningful connectedness among people—new values can take hold. With people gaining greater awareness of humanity's connectedness to nature, and of the ecological cost that imperialist "consumerism" has exacted, attitudes can change.

F. Valuing the Planet, Becoming Caretakers of the Planet

There is an ecological imperative for us to care about and value the planet. We depend for our survival on the natural world, from green plants that produce oxygen to other living species that provide food and medicine; we cannot live without fresh water, nutrient-rich soils, and clean air. At the same time, we are linked with the natural world: through complex evolutionary chains and through networks of ecosystems that provide flows of energy for life to maintain itself.

There is a moral imperative to care about and value the planet. We must strive to become the stewards of the planet: protectors and enhancers of the natural world of which we are part, and with which we are always interacting and transforming. Knowing more about our connections with the natural world and our responsibilities to it also enriches us as human beings.

There is an urgent time line to act: if we do not protect and preserve fast-vanishing natural ecosystems around the world, if we do not move to stem climate change, this planet could very well become uninhabitable for billions of people, and possibly all of humanity.

This is our orientation. Revolution makes it possible to live lives worthy of human beings and to protect the environment. It is why socialist revolution, and the creation of a new socialist state in one or several countries, would have an incredible effect on the world. The establishment of even one new socialist state—especially in a significant country, in terms of geography and population—would dramatically change political alignments in the world. It would give hope and inspiration to people throughout the world. This heightens our determination to make that revolution and to call on others to join and contribute to this most vital undertaking.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/226/Lotta-Interview-on-Libya-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Revolution Interviews Raymond Lotta: The Events in Libya in Historical Perspective... Muammar Qaddafi in Class Perspective... The Question of Leadership in Communist Perspective

Revolution: We're speaking at a time when the uprising in Libya is being met with brutal force by the Muammar Qaddafi regime. In Egypt, Mubarak stepped down under pressure of the mass revolt and the obvious prod from the military. So one of the big questions on people's minds is what's similar and what's different as between Libya and Egypt.

Raymond Lotta: It's an important place to start the discussion. The uprising in Libya is an expression of profound discontent in Libyan society. Broad sections of Libyan society, taking inspiration from events in Tunisia and Egypt, have risen against an oppressive regime. And this uprising in Libya is part of the wave of rebellion sweeping through the imperialist-dominated Middle East.

But when you compare events in Libya with those of Egypt, there are two major differences.

First, in Libya, you have a situation where imperialist intrigue is commingling with genuine and just mass upheaval. This makes things highly complicated.

In Egypt, the uprising was overwhelmingly a product of mass discontent against a U.S-backed client regime. But U.S. imperialism had a reliable base within the leadership and command structure of the Egyptian military. That military has been trained, financed, and equipped by the U.S. It's been the U.S.'s most vital asset in trying to stabilize the situation in Egypt to its advantage. I mean being able to stabilize from within the existing state apparatus... in order to maintain Egypt as a key flank of U.S. dominance in the Middle East. And the U.S. also has large, direct economic interests in Egypt.

Now the outcome of the uprising in Egypt has by no means been sealed. Protests are still erupting, people are debating what's been accomplished and what hasn't, and things are still in motion. But what I'm getting at is that U.S. imperialism has important capacities and assets inside Egypt.

That's not the case in Libya. You don't have that kind of military apparatus with such close ties to the U.S. The Libyan state structure—here I'm speaking of key ministries and sections of the security apparatus—is fracturing and splitting in response to the uprising and the pressures of imperialism. And the U.S. does not have the same kind of large economic holdings in Libya as it does in Egypt.

So this creates both necessity and opportunity for the U.S. and West European imperialists. They are reaching out to and seeking to bolster oppositional forces in Libya who might be the embryo of an entirely new neocolonial regime... one that would be a more pliant tool of Western interests. And it can't be ruled out that imperialist operatives have, from the very beginning of this uprising, been assisting some of the oppositional forces.

So as I said, while there is genuine and just mass upheaval, there are also significant elements of imperialist maneuvering involved. These are things that we need to analyze and understand more deeply.

Lotta: Yes. The second major difference between what's happening in Libya and the upheavals in other parts of the Middle East is Qaddafi himself. Muammar Qaddafi is not the same as Mubarak.

I know this is not the official story line of the State Department or the narrative put out on CNN about a crazed, autocratic ruler... but Qaddafi actually had popular support when he came to power in 1969, especially from sections of the intelligentsia and professional and middle classes. He had popular bases of support for many years of his rule.

For three decades, Qaddafi was viewed by many inside and outside of Libya as someone standing up for the genuine national interests of Libya... as someone who stood against imperialism and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

And the fact is... Qaddafi was for many years a real thorn in the side of imperialism, especially the U.S. Let's not forget that in 1986 Ronald Reagan launched fighter attacks and bombed Libya's two largest cities, tried to assassinate Qaddafi, and in the bombings killed one of his daughters.

Qaddafi is not the same as the openly servile Hosni Mubarak... even though the Qaddafi regime never fundamentally broke with or fundamentally challenged imperialism.

Revolution: This gets us into the history of Libya and Qaddafi. It would be helpful if you could provide some background.

Lotta: Well, Libya did not really exist as a unitary state until after World War 2. It gained its formal independence in 1951.

In the late 1500s, the coastal regions of what is today Libya were conquered by the Turkish Ottoman empire. In 1910, Italian imperialism moved to colonize the area of Libya. Libya is strategically located in North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea. When Italy came to the imperialist banquet table, other colonial powers had already imposed their presence in the region. The British ruled Egypt. The French had colonized Algeria. From 1911 to 1943, Italy employed savage means to consolidate its rule in Libya. The historian Abdullatif Ahmida describes this as one of the most brutal colonizations of the 20th century.

Italy was on the losing side of World War 2. After the war, the U.S. and Britain put their weight behind a pro-Western constitutional monarchy in Libya headed by King Idris. He allowed the U.S. to set up Wheelus Air Base. It was one of the U.S.'s largest overseas military facilities... and the base was used for military training, missile testing, and for fighter and reconnaissance missions.

Lotta: Actually, it was only in 1959 that large oil deposits were discovered in Libya. U.S. and European companies moved in big time to set up production operations. The banking sector grew rapidly, especially after an oil pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea was finished. Oil revenues soared through the decade of the 1960s. But the foreign oil companies were getting the lion's share of earnings. And what oil wealth did return to Libya... it was concentrated in the hands of a small mercantile, banking, and speculator elite.

Poverty remained widespread. And the opportunities for a new middle class growing in connection with the oil economy... they were limited. So, mass resentment against the Idris monarchy was growing.

Then you had the impact of regional and world events. In 1967, Israel attacked Egypt and Syria with the support of the U.S. In Libya, students, intellectuals, and workers organized mass actions and strikes. There were also protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam. Unrest was spreading in the face of the Libyan government's total subordination to the West.

In the 1960s, a wave of national liberation struggles—in Asia, Latin America, and Africa—was battering imperialism and shook the international order. This aroused literally hundreds of millions throughout the world to rise in resistance. This was a time when a new nationalist spirit was being stirred, when ideas of Arab unity against imperialism were taking hold. It was a time when revolutionary China was influencing social forces and Marxism-Leninism was a big part of the ideological discourse. But the fact that the U.S. was under this kind of siege also provided openings for many different class forces who had been held down by imperialism. They saw new possibilities.

Lotta: Yes. Qaddafi was part of a group of young army officers influenced by the pan-Arabist and social reformist ideas of Gamal Nasser, the leader of Egypt. Qaddafi came from poor desert-tribal origins, and other radical-minded officers came from lower-class backgrounds. The military was one of the few institutions in Libyan society that afforded them any chance of training and mobility.

These young army officers were outraged by the corruption and subservience of the ruling regime. They saw themselves as the bearers of a new Libya. And in 1969, they organized a coup against the King and constituted a new government out of what they called their Revolutionary Command Council.

Lotta: Qaddafi argued that Libya's national sovereignty had been bartered away, that foreign capital had been allowed to dictate to the Libyan people. He accused the old order of squandering Libya's oil resources and doing little to alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people.

He forced the U.S. to accelerate its timetable for closing down Wheelus Air Base. He moved to nationalize banks. He made the government a major stakeholder in the oil industry. He promised to develop agriculture and industry and did direct some funds into these sectors. He enacted social programs in the 1970s that over the next 20 years led to real improvements in mass literacy, life expectancy, and housing. These actions and polices had popular support.

But for all of Qaddafi's anti-imperialist rhetoric, this whole project rested on the preservation and expansion of Libya's oil-based economy. It rested on Libya's continued insertion into the global capitalist system... its division of labor and international relations of exploitation.

Qaddafi relied heavily on Western Europe as a market for Libyan oil. He used oil revenues to buy French jets, to attract German manufacturing capital to Libya, and even to become a major investor in Italy's largest auto company. Italy, the old colonial power, was allowed to keep its operations going in Libya.

Revolution: You've focused on the economic base of Qaddafi's program, but what about the other dimensions of what he was doing?

Lotta: Qaddafi harnessed oil revenues to restructure society. He was creating a social welfare system with particular political features. He set up "people's committees" at local levels in order to widen his political support and to redirect tribal and clan loyalties toward the central regime. At the same time, he outlawed unions and independent political organization and muzzled press criticism of the regime.

He used oil revenues to build up a large security and military apparatus... both to put down any internal opposition to the regime and to project Libya as a political model and regional force in the Middle East and Africa.

Ideologically, the Qaddafi regime combined social welfarism and pan-Arabism with retrograde values. Islam was made the official state religion. Women had more opportunities than before, but patriarchal Sharia law was made the foundation of legal-social codes. Qaddafi was vehemently anticommunist... and claimed to be finding a third way between capitalism and communism.

The reality was that Qaddafi was creating a state capitalism... based on oil revenues and beholden to world imperialism for markets, technology, transport, and investment capital.

Revolution: You're saying there was nothing authentically radical about this project.

Lotta: Qaddafi was changing things, but within the existing framework of imperialist dominance, capitalist property relations, and a complex web of tribal loyalties and regional divisions.

There was nothing truly transformative in terms of breaking with imperialism. There was nothing truly transformative in terms of the masses having the kind of leadership and radically different political state power that could enable them to remake the economy and society in a truly liberating direction.

Bob Avakian has this very incisive formulation about "three alternatives" in the world. Now I am paraphrasing here, but he basically says this. The first alternative is to leave the world as it is... which is totally unacceptable. Or you can make some changes in the distribution of wealth and forms of rule, but leave the basic exploitative production and oppressive social relations of society and the world basically intact. That's the second alternative.

Or, and this is the third alternative, you can make a genuine revolution. A revolution that aims to transform all relations of exploitation, all oppressive institutions, all oppressive social arrangements, and all enslaving ideas and values... a revolution to overcome the very division of human society into classes. That third alternative is the world proletarian revolution to achieve communism.

Qaddafi's program, his social and economic model, fits into that second alternative that changes some aspects of the status quo but keeps the oppressive essence of existing social order the same.

Revolution: What comes across in the general coverage of Qaddafi, the indictment that's made, is that he is this ruthless "strongman."

Lotta: You know, this notion of the "strongman"... it's a "straw man." It obscures the essence, the class essence, of things. This is what Marxism enables us to understand.

Look, all societies at this stage of human history are divided into classes. Leaders don't float in some ether. They concentrate the outlook, the methods, and aspirations of different classes. Qaddafi and those military officers who took power in 1969, what I was talking about earlier... they represented and concentrated the outlook of a radicalized sector of the petty bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie of a nation oppressed by imperialism.

They felt stymied by imperialist subjugation. And from their class standpoint, the problem, as they saw it, was that Libya was getting a bad deal. They wanted to make market mechanisms, which are based on exploitation and the production of profit, somehow "work" for the benefit of the whole nation. They had this illusion that they would be able to wrench concessions from imperialism... and force imperialism to come to terms with them. But the fact is: global capitalism operates according to a definite logic and imposes its norms on these societies and economies.

These bourgeois nationalist forces claimed to speak for the whole nation. They saw their interests as being identical with the interests of all social classes in the nation. But there are dominant and dominated classes in these nations.

You know one of the slogans that Qaddafi raised, I think it's in his so-called "Green Book," was: "not wage earners but partners." In other words, here you have this system based on profit and integration into capitalist world markets, but somehow you could turn everyone into equal stakeholders. That was both populist rhetoric and illusion.

Wage earners, or proletarians, do not own means of production. In order to survive, they must sell their labor power to those who do command control over the means of production: the capitalists. The capitalist class exploits workers in the production process to make profit, and to continue to make profit on an ever-expanding scale. And when sufficient profit cannot be generated, wage-laborers are cast off. The basic condition of wage labor is its domination by capital and its subordination to the accumulation of capital. There is a basic antagonism between workers and capitalists.

In Libya, wage-labor is part of the foundation of the economy. In Libya today, there's 20 percent unemployment. The reality is that wage earners cannot be "partners" of capital.

Politically and ideologically, these aspiring bourgeois forces feared the basic masses... they feared that the masses would step beyond their reformist, let's-make-a-deal-with-imperialism program. And they tried to control and contain those on the bottom of society.

My point is that whatever idiosyncrasies Qaddafi might have... if you want to understand the Qaddafi program, you have to analyze the class interests and outlook that he represents and how those interests were interacting with the world situation. I mean, you can call Barack Obama "calm" and "worldly," or whatever, but what he's really about... is that he concentrates the exploitative and murderous interests of empire and the world outlook of an imperialist ruling class.

Revolution: Qaddafi held on for so long and did have those radical credentials.

Lotta: Yes. When Qaddafi consolidated power in the early 1970s, the regime had certain things going for it in world politics and world economics. To begin with, the U.S. was facing defeat in Vietnam and its global economic power was weakening. So that created some space.

Second, the Soviet Union was challenging the U.S. globally. Now the Soviet Union claimed to be socialist. But socialism in the Soviet Union had been overthrown by a new capitalist class in the mid-1950s. The Soviet Union became a social-imperialist power. By the mid-1970s, it was contending for influence and control in different parts of the world. Part of its global strategy was to build up client regimes in key areas of the Third World. The Soviet Union began offering economic aid, oil agreements, and diplomatic support to regimes like that headed by Qaddafi... and the Soviets became a major weapons supplier to Libya.

And there was a third factor. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the world oil industry was going through changes. The major oil companies were entering into new arrangements with oil producers in the Third World. Formal control over production was allowed to pass into the hands of Third World governments and their state oil companies. Imperialist domination was exerted through control over oil refining, marketing, technology, and finance. But now producer countries had more latitude at the production level... you have the Third World producers cartel, OPEC. And in the 1970s the price of oil was rising. These developments worked to Qaddafi's advantage.

Revolution: So all of this gave Qaddafi some maneuvering room economically and politically.

Lotta: Yes... but to do what? You see, bourgeois nationalist forces such as Qaddafi were neither willing nor able to lead the masses to break with imperialism and to carry forward a liberating social revolution. As I said, they chafed under imperialism but also feared the masses. Again, this has to do with their class nature of these rulers: they were held down by relations of imperialism but could not see beyond a world in which they control exploitative relations... rather than a world that has abolished exploitation.

So here you have Qaddafi... securing his hold on power... wheeling and dealing with imperialism... and seeking to modernize an oil economy subordinated to the norms of world capitalist production. Over 95 percent of Libya's export earnings were coming from oil, and in the 1973-83 decade, Libya became one of the three largest weapons importers in the Third World. This was distorted and dependent development.

As things unfolded, these national bourgeois forces in power evolved into the core of an oppressive ruling bourgeois elite dependent on and tied into imperialism.

On the international stage, Qaddafi criticized conservative Arab regimes and presented himself as the real champion of the Palestinian people's rights. He voiced support for African liberation. This was part of his popularity.

Revolution: In the 1980s, Qaddafi was demonized by the U.S. imperialists as a mad-dog ruler.

Lotta: Yes, but this had nothing to do with the repressiveness of the regime or Qaddafi's style of rule. I mean the U.S. was propping up brutal client regimes and "strongman despots" in Central America—and their human rights violations made Qaddafi look positively benign. The problem the U.S. imperialists had with Qaddafi was his close ties to the Soviet bloc... the problem they had was assertiveness in supporting certain radical movements and groups that might benefit the Soviet bloc at a time when the rivalry between the U.S. and Soviet-led blocs was heading towards a global military showdown.

In the 1980s, the U.S. ramped up the vilification of Qaddafi. Reagan provoked aerial fights with Soviet-made Libyan jets off the Libyan coast and launched that military attack on Libya that I referred to earlier. The U.S. set out to punish the regime with economic sanctions and diplomatic pressures. U.S. oil companies suspended operations.

Now, as I have mentioned, Libya has been a significant energy supplier to Western Europe. This was a source of tension between the U.S. and the West European imperialists. I think there is strong evidence that Reagan's military attacks on Libya were also aimed at bringing the West European imperialists more closely into line, as the face-off with the Soviet social-imperialist bloc was intensifying.

Under U.S. pressure, the UN imposed sanctions on Libya. These moves to isolate Libya began to pinch Libya's economy and periodic declines in world oil prices hurt the economy as well. And Libya's oil industry was in need of upgrading and new investment.

Then in 1989-91, the Soviet Union and its bloc collapsed. This marked a qualitative shift in international relations. It knocked a lot of the wind out of Qaddafi's project. He no longer had this great power backing. And the demise of the Soviet Union gave the U.S. new freedom—and it moved to exploit this new freedom in the Middle East and other parts of the Third World.

In this changed situation, Qaddafi began cultivating closer ties with the West European imperialists. By the end of the 1990s, relations were restored with Great Britain. Italy was allowed greater sway over Libya's oil and natural gas sectors.

Revolution: It does seem that the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was another turning point.

Lotta: I think that's right. It put more pressure on Qaddafi—would Libya be next? Qaddafi was also worried about a fundamentalist Islamic challenge to his rule. So he began making overtures to the U.S. After 9/11, the Qaddafi regime started sharing intelligence about al-Qaida-type forces with the U.S. In 2004, Qaddafi announced that he was giving up various nuclear and other weapons programs. The U.S. took Libya off its list of "terrorist states." Qaddafi became a valued ally in the U.S. war against terrorism. Bush gave the green light to U.S. oil companies to sign new contracts with Libya. Qaddafi began privatizing some sectors of industry.

I have to say... Qaddafi can't restrain himself in scraping before the imperialists. Last year he signed an agreement with Italy to seal off the crossing routes for undocumented African immigrants coming through Libya to Europe. This was ugly. He demanded billions in payment for patrolling borders... and he issued racist warnings that Europe would turn "black" unless it adopted stricter measures to turn back African immigrants.

This was the "rehabilitated" Qaddafi whose son met with Hillary Clinton... this was the Qaddafi that the London School of Economics was accepting huge donations from... the Qaddafi that the British were now selling arms to. The imperialists found Qaddafi useful and "workable."

You know in early February 2011, the International Monetary Fund released a report on Libya's economy and commended the Qaddafi government, and I'm quoting, for its "ambitious reform agenda" and "strong macroeconomic performance"... and "encouraged" authorities to keep on this promising path. What higher praise, than from the IMF!

But now, when it suits them, and it's really brazen... when they might be able to utilize mass discontent to install an even "more workable" regime, the imperialists are back to the master narrative of "Qaddafi the madman," "Qaddafi the strongman."

Revolution: So let's shift the discussion to some of what is happening in Libya right now and some of the bigger issues and challenges being thrown up.

Lotta: Well, I've focused a lot on the class nature of Qaddafi and the social-economic character of the development model that the Qaddafi regime was pursuing. This is important in understanding how things have unfolded and how growing numbers of people turned against Qaddafi and this model.

Over the last decade, oil wealth and nationalized properties were becoming the province of a narrower and narrower circle, including the extended Qaddafi family... and more of this wealth was being invested abroad.

The regime brooked no criticism. The widespread censorship became increasingly unbearable at a time when people were seeking outlets for expression. Dissidents were being arrested. There was a thirst for political life outside the official structures. The so-called "people's councils" were largely discredited, having become arms of a patronage system and tools of a surveillance network. There was a thirst for cultural diversity—until recently, foreign languages could not be taught in the schools. Health care has deteriorated recently. Unemployment has risen.

Qaddafi's response has been heavier repression... while looking to invigorate the economy with infusions of Western capital. One of the paradoxes of recent years is that when the sanctions were lifted, and the sense of siege abated, Qaddafi's anti-imperialist and nationalist appeals did not have the same resonance. His militant "luster" had worn thin... the allegiance he previously commanded was dissipating.

Lotta: Yes. As we're doing this interview, the situation in Libya is both cloudy and bloody. Qaddafi announced his intention to fight to the end to retain power. Right now the central government controls Tripoli and the western regions of the country, while oppositional forces have taken command of the east. Some ministers and military figures have gone over to the opposition and become part of a nucleus of another government in the making.

Some within this "interim national government council" are calling for Western air strikes to aid them. This is a reactionary demand that represents a craven pro-imperialist stance. This is not in the interests of the Libyan people, who have long suffered under imperial domination.

Something to keep in mind is that this is the first upheaval in the region that has disrupted oil production. Libya has the largest proven oil reserves of any African country, and Libya supplies a significant share of Europe's oil needs. So this too is a factor influencing imperialist calculations. The imperialists are using the pretext of "humanitarian concern" as an ideological wedge for possible military intervention.

Revolution: So this underscores the complicated character of what is happening.

Lotta: Yes. One of the things to emphasize here, looking at the situation in Libya and the continuing struggle in Egypt, is that the notion of "leaderless" movements... it's untrue and it's very damaging. A lot of progressive and radical-minded people would like to think they can swear off leadership. But leadership is being exerted in society and the world, including on them.

In Libya, as in Egypt, different class and social forces have been in the field. They are bringing their interests and outlooks into the fray... and various forces are vying for leadership and seeking to push these movements in certain directions.

Look, you have lawyers assembling in eastern Libya who want to restore the old 1952 constitution, which served a decrepit political and social order. And doctors, university professors, students, disaffected youth, and workers who had taken to the streets... well, they are part of a larger swirl in which reactionary tribal leaders, former ministers, and colonels are angling for position and leadership. You have some people who are trying to settle old scores. You have youth raising slogans "no to tribalism and no to factionalism." And in this same swirl, the imperialists are maneuvering.

Different class forces are bringing forward leadership, programs, and agendas that correspond to their interests. And different sections of society are looking for leadership.

What I'm trying to say is that the question is not leadership or no leadership. No, the question is what kind of leadership? Serving what goals? Using what methods to achieve those goals? And where there is no truly revolutionary and communist leadership, history has repeatedly shown that the masses lose... the people who are the most bitterly oppressed and exploited... and who yearn for and most desperately need fundamental change... they get left out and betrayed.

In his recent statement on Egypt, Bob Avakian speaks to these issues very powerfully, and I want to read from it. He says: "When people ... in their millions finally break free of the constraints that have kept them from rising up against their oppressors and tormentors, then whether or not their heroic struggle and sacrifice will really lead to fundamental change, moving toward the abolition of all exploitation and oppression, depends on whether or not there is a leadership, a communist leadership, that has the necessary scientific understanding and method, and on that basis can develop the necessary strategic approach and the influence and organized ties among growing numbers of the people, in order to lead the uprising of the people, through all the twists and turns, to the goal of a real, revolutionary transformation of society, in accordance with the fundamental interests of the people."

But, and this brings me back to issues of class, to make the kind of revolution that can really emancipate all of humanity... this requires bringing forward the basic sections of the people as the backbone and driving force of revolutionary transformation and as conscious emancipators of all humanity. It requires a leadership capable of doing so.

So there are important lessons to be drawn from what is happening. There are big challenges to rise to. And as Avakian has also emphasized, the future remains to be written.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/capitalist-nuclear-horror-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Chernobyl in Japan: the Capitalist Nuclear Horror

For a month, radioactive contamination has poured out of the Fukushima nuclear reactors after the huge earthquake and tsunami along Japan's eastern coast. Radioactive materials have spread over wide swaths where millions of people live. Food crops, tap water, and soil have been contaminated, endangering human health and poisoning ecosystems. Farmers' and fishermen's livelihoods are being ruined even as the government has completely neglected to warn them about what is safe and what is not, and in fact has covered up the dangers by claiming the radiation levels are too low to pose any danger. And bodies from the tsunami and quake are still being found. 28,000 people are dead or missing, and 150,000 are still living in temporary shelters.

The owner of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) purposely dumped tons of radioactive water into the ocean while even more highly radioactive water gushed from a pit near one reactor. For days, 7 tons of this stuff poured every hour straight into the ocean. After this, radiation levels 7.5 million times the legal limit were measured offshore. Outrageously, throughout all this, a false picture has been presented by all the world's authorities and the media that somehow none of this would pose a danger to ocean ecosystems or people. The truth is that some radioactive materials like cesium-137 can be absorbed by the base of the food web in phytoplankton, zooplankton and kelp, which can then build up in fish, marine mammals, and humans. The ocean has been portrayed as a limitless dumping ground, which would easily dilute the radiation to minute levels. This is the same outlook allowing the tremendous destruction that has already occurred in the world's oceans, with huge implications for ocean ecosystems and even potentially life on earth as a whole.

After weeks of downplaying the extent and dangers of the nuclear crisis, the Japanese government admitted on April 11 that the disaster was on the same level as Chernobyl. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) raised the rating of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the International Nuclear Event Scale to a level 7 disaster, one involving "widespread health and environmental effects" and the "external release of a significant fraction of the reactor core inventory." NISA estimates the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors have already released 10% of the radioactive materials released at Chernobyl. Given that the government has consistently underestimated the contamination, the actual amount may be higher. An official for TEPCO said, "our concern is that it could eventually exceed Chernobyl."

Chernobyl is the worst nuclear accident in history. It poisoned wide swaths of land and the estimates of the number of people who will end up dying from cancer as a result of Chernobyl range from thousands to hundreds of thousands. But unlike Chernobyl which involved one reactor, at Fukushima there are 3 active reactors deeply damaged and suffering some level of nuclear meltdown, and huge amounts of highly radioactive spent fuel rods that they can't restore cooling systems for as well. Andre-Claude Lacoste, the head of Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) of France, said the clean-up would be a problem "for decades and decades to come."

Government spokespeople claim the danger at the Fukushima plant has greatly lessened, but the truth is the situation continues to be dangerous and not under control. There is evidence that the radioactive core of reactor #2 probably has leaked out of or melted through its containment vessel meaning there could be larger radioactive releases and danger of explosion. Nitrogen gas is being pumped into at least one other reactor, to try to counter the build-up of hydrogen which caused previous explosions. Water continues to be poured into reactors and spent fuel pools to try to cool nuclear fuel. This water then becomes radioactive and is spread all over the area, making it difficult or impossible to repair or replace equipment and restore the cooling systems. Earthquake aftershocks continue to hit the area, with potential to cause even more dangerous radioactive releases from the plant.

Michael Friedlander, a former official at nuclear plants in the U.S. said the problems are far "beyond the design capacity" of the plant and that "no nuclear power plant has ever considered the inability to get on long-term core cooling for more than a week" and it is now one month into the crisis. TEPCO has admitted there is "no end in sight" to the disaster.

The Japanese government had evacuated people within 12 miles of the Fukushima plant and told those within 18 miles to stay indoors. For weeks, it has been apparent the contamination is much more dangerous and has spread farther than the government has admitted. Greenpeace sent teams to monitor radiation levels in areas outside the 12 mile zone. In the town of Iitate, 24 miles from Fukushima, they found levels that in a few days exposure would add up to the annual allowable doses of radiation. Greenpeace monitor Thomas Breuer said in Fukushima, a city of 340,000 inhabitants 40 miles from the nuclear plant, people are going about their everyday lives while exposed to harmful radiation levels all over the city. On April 11, the government agreed to evacuate some communities outside of the 18 mile exclusion zone. Finally, on April 16, Japanese authorities agreed to expand the evacuation zone from 12 to 18 miles.

A Shameful Response

The response of the whole world capitalist system to this immense catastrophe has been one of paralysis, lies, cover-ups, denial and the reckless endangering of people's lives. Not one country has exposed in real terms the tremendous dangers bound up with the crippling of these nuclear reactors, or the tremendous dangers for human health and ecosystems let loose by this catastrophe, or moved to meaningfully help get people out of harm's way. Instead, scientists, activists and other ordinary people have been fighting to sound the alarm and go up against this. But as it says in the special issue of Revolution "Emergency," they have run "smack up against the profit-above-all relations that dominate economic and social life on the planet and that constrain humanity from acting in the way it must to preserve the planet."

On April 10 Japanese cabinet secretary Yukio Edano defended the Japanese government's response to the crisis. He said the government had done all it could, and that the scale of the earthquake and tsunami was just beyond anyone's imagination. This is completely untrue.

Like all other capitalist countries, the U.S., the UK, France and all the rest, Japan's economy can only operate with tremendous influxes of energy. Japan, without fossil fuels and forced to import them, made a strategic decision to develop its nuclear industry. This industry now supplies 30% of Japan's energy and the plan is to expand this to 60% by 2100. All of Japan's 55 nuclear reactors are in earthquake zones and in fact there are a number in zones rated more seismically active than those just hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima.

Scientists' Warnings Ignored

The Japanese government, through more than one administration, ignored warnings from some of its own experts that its nuclear plants were vulnerable to earthquakes. Ishibashi Katsuhiko, a prominent member of an expert government panel overseeing seismic design guidelines resigned in protest after his warnings were ignored. After several earthquakes in 2005-2007 near three nuclear power plants (including one owned by TEPCO), Ishibashi pointed out the earthquakes were all stronger than what the plants were built to withstand. He said Japan's seismic guidelines were defective and "the system to enforce them is in shambles."

Ishibashi said Japan had entered a period of more intense seismic activity in the 1990's and predicted in 2007 that if radical steps weren't taken to reduce the vulnerability of nuclear plants to earthquakes, "Japan could experience a true nuclear catastrophe in the near future."

So what happened? Did the authorities alert the public to the danger and invite societal debate over the human and environmental risks and how to radically reconfigure society to reduce dependence on both fossil fuels and this clearly deadly, "accident-waiting to happen" nuclear energy strategy? No!! According to Ishibashi, "the government, along with the power industry and the academic community, all developed the habit of underestimating the potential risks posed by major quakes."

This is because there is and could be no "mechanism" under capitalism to identify and act on the immense dangers presented, to make people aware of the human and environmental costs. Doing this would unravel the operation of the capitalist system. It would totally undermine its most basic drive and commandment: profit.

Imagine the capitalists of ANY country mobilizing society to consume less in order to reduce the need for nuclear or oil based power. Or to mobilize a national consensus for people to stop driving, share public transportation or quit producing iToys or whatever the next technological gadget will be so that humanity moves away from the completely environmentally destructive path capitalism-imperialism is taking us down. Capitalism can't pose to society the risks of fossil fuel or nuclear profit-driven consumption to world ecosystems, and challenge people to transform this because it would completely undermine its functioning.

But things don't have to be this way. As the special "Emergency" issue puts it, "Under capitalism, social production and economic calculation are governed by profit. Under socialism, this will no longer be the case. A socialist society and economy will be consciously working to promote and advance the world revolution towards a communist world. Economic decision-making and accounting will be governed by planned and rational production—and by the deployment of society's skills, resources, and capabilities—to serve what is useful and important for the betterment of world humanity."

A Need for Outrage and Resistance

People cannot accept this situation, anywhere. This is a global problem and a global danger. There is increasing anger building in Japan over the continuing lies and cover-ups of the authorities and their inability to control the nuclear disaster. Initial anti-nuclear protests of dozens or a few hundred have grown. On April 10, 10,000 people protested in Tokyo including large numbers of youth who built the protest via Twitter. There are increasing demands from anti-nuclear organizations in Japan, and in other countries, that people be told the truth about the situation, that their safety be protected, that people be evacuated from areas contaminated with radiation, and that nuclear plants be shut down. 200,000 protested in Germany against nuclear power. One call is for protests to "show our consternation and solidarity with the people of Japan...We demand that all atomic installations be switched off." This is very welcome.

Everyone should put their heads together, struggle to develop, and unite to fight for demands on the system right now to deal with the effects of this disaster. The governments must mobilize all resources to contain the disaster, and there must be international medical rescue and aid. The outrageous cover-up and lying must stop and there must be full disclosure of what is going on, including independent scientific panels to investigate and verify the actual nature of this crisis. The full scale of the human and natural disaster must be made clear. There must be an immediate moratorium on building nuclear power plants everywhere and a deactivation of all plants everywhere built in earthquake zones, including those in the United States at Diablo Canyon and San Onofre in California. Other just demands should be formulated and fought for.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/pig-award-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Pigs Give Award to Fellow Pig

The Police Benevolent Association of the Pleasantville, NY Police Department presented Aaron Hess with its "Officer of the Year Award."

Hess killed Danroy Henry in October of last year. Henry was an unarmed 20-year-old student. Danroy Henry was driving away from a disturbance at a bar after a Pace University homecoming game when Hess killed him. Hess claimed that Henry's car had hit him, but witnesses disputed this.

The pigs who gave out this award made a special point of saying that it was for Hess' "dignity and professionalism" after he killed Danroy Henry.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/seattle_murder-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Call to Counter Protest at Support Rallies for the SPD
Stand Against the Justification of Police Brutality and Murder!

I wanted to share with Revolution newspaper this response to the "rallies to support the SPD" that are being organized by policemen's wives—partly (or mostly) in response to the outrage that hundreds of people expressed in protest after the inquest decision came out that former Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer Ian Birk would not be charged with anything in connection with the murder of John T. Williams that he committed.

O22 [October 22 Coalition Against Police Brutality] Seattle is calling for people to come out to stand against this justification of police brutality and murder...there are 2 more rallies planned. So far the side opposing police brutality and murder has been very small—less than 10, while the side supporting the SPD has remained steady at around 20-30, including their kids, some look as young as 7 or 8. Many of the same people in "support of the SPD" are in attendance at the different rallies—it was reported that some of them aren't actually residents of Seattle. More work is needed to build resistance to the next two rallies, and there is a need to spread this call.

Call to Counter Protest at Support Rallies for the SPD
Stand Against the Justification of Police Brutality and Murder!

Seattle has drawn national attention for its epidemic of police brutality. There has been the unjust murder of native carver John T. Williams, the murder of unarmed 23-year-old David Young, the brutal beating of Chris Harris—cops body-slammed him, headfirst, into a wall; he was left with permanent brain damage, and in need of lifelong care. Videos circulating on YouTube show the SPD beating black girls, SPD officer stomping on the head of a Latino man while yelling racial slurs, cops stomping on a man's head in Ballard, and a black teenager being punched in the groin by a cop. For most of these instances the police officers involved have not been charged with any crime, even with the video documentation, which clearly show brutality being committed by police. And that's not all—the people of Seattle are not the only ones to be murdered and beaten at the hands of the police. This is a nationwide epidemic of police brutality and murder, the Stolen Lives Project estimates that there is an average of 1000 people killed every year by police, and many, many more people repressed and brutalized.

Protests against police brutality erupted in Seattle in February and March, raising the call for the murderer of John T. Williams, former SPD officer Ian Birk to be prosecuted. People have been speaking out all over Seattle to call for an end to police brutality and many people need to confront the fact that this is an epidemic that reaches across this country.

The powers that be want to de-legitimize these protests against police brutality and murder, and suppress the cries of the people. They want to be able to kill and brutalize people with impunity. Washington State prosecutor Dan Satterberg refused to bring charges against Ian Birk. Peaceful protests made up of high school youth, community members and those under the gun of police brutality everyday have been met with tear gas and police mounted on horses, using their horses running crowds of protestors over. Some reported being beaten and others arrested for marching ON THE SIDEWALK. Protesters who have called-out the police have been followed and harassed by the Seattle Police Department, including being taunted with racial slurs and threats of murder. One protester was told by a police officer that he was going to "Go Ian Birk On His Ass."

Some people in the Native American community have said that treatment from the police has intensified, including one woman being shoved down on the ground by a SPD officer.

Over the past couple of weeks, a group of wives of police officers have organized support rallies at the Seattle Police Department precincts. These rallies have had the support of the SPD, and it isn't clear how deep the relationships go, beyond the family ties, but in protests against police brutality and murder, the people protesting were prevented from reaching the east precinct on more than one occasion, and their voices stifled. Contrast that to the support rally at the east precinct on March 28, when demonstrators in the support rally were welcomed into the precinct afterward.

These rallies have been under the guise of "police are humans too," but if this is true, then why is it that a person who shoplifts could spend time in jail while a police officer who has murdered another human being walks free? The fact is that most of the people who have organized and attended these support rallies are some of the most vicious supporters of police brutality and murder, and they think that anybody killed by a police officer "had it coming." They defend the actions of police and outright say that Ian Birk did the right thing in murdering John T. Williams. They insist that if the police can't kill and brutalize people at their own discretion than Seattle will be in chaos. When police murder is intensifying, with black and Latino people taking the brunt of it, it is right to characterize these forces as nothing less than defenders of a modern day lynch mob.

Those who think that the Seattle Police Department has backed down on their brutality, or are on the defensive, are wrong.

These support rallies need to be met with much more opposition. In a time when killer cops walk free, why should defenders of police brutality be the ones who are most visible in the streets? We have not forgotten the grief and tears of the families who have had their loved ones lives stolen by the police. We know being visible makes a difference and we know that it is outrageous to stay on the sidelines as these people insist that they hold the moral high ground. It is righteous and just to fight for a world where people are not gunned down, degraded and brutalized by the police on a daily basis. It is righteous and just to fight for a world in which all people from all backgrounds are treated like human beings. Be out in force to tell the truth and to show the world that Seattle does not support police brutality. Might does not make right! In fact there were far more people out protesting against police brutality, not that long ago, and we are calling you out to the streets again, to oppose the justification of police brutality and murder.

We call on everyone who has lost a loved one, or is outraged by police brutality to be out there to speak the truth. Bring signs that shine a light on this epidemic and stand-up to say NO to Police Brutality.

Friday, April 8, 2011 at 6:30 pm: South West Precinct, 2300 S.W. Webster Seattle, WA 98106

Friday, April 15, 2011 at 6:30 pm: South Precinct, 3001 South Myrtle Street Seattle, WA 98108

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 6:30 pm: North Precinct, 10049 College Way North Seattle, WA 98133

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/houston_celebration-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Release of BAsics Celebrated in Houston

On April 5, we hosted a book release of BAsics in Houston. It opened with the following poem:

This is a poem for the restless, the rebels, the radicals
those who are not satisfied with things the way they are
but remain hopeful for what could be

This is a poem for the determined, the dedicated, the daring
those who speak of a whole new world
Where our potential
is not relegated to the gutter of misplaced dreams, but lifted into possibility

This is a poem for those who seek,
who search, whose quest for knowledge is not restricted by the
bounds of our circumstances but is unleashed by the raising of our sights

This is a poem for those who have had enough, who have had their
fill, who have rejected the notion that this is the best that could ever be

It was a very festive occasion. As people came in, Bob Avakian's "All Played Out" was playing in the background. Three people read their favorite quotes from BAsics and there was more poetry, and a montage of music videos. The people who came were from different walks of life and perspectives. There were youth, students, Latino immigrants, revolutionary communists, people from the progressive movements, and the hip-hop scene. Well into the night, people mingled and talked with each other about their thinking as well as their big questions about revolution, communism and Bob Avakian. Five people bought BAsics and a couple of others said they'd get it from the bookstore the next day.

Permalink: http://www.revcom.us/a/230/AWTW-Churchill-en.html

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Book Review: Churchill's Secret War in India

April 11, 2011. A World to Win News Service. Madhusree Mukerjee's book, Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India During World War II (Basic Books, New York, 2010), is a deeply moving read. Her subject is the 1943 famine that ravaged India for over a year, snuffing out the lives of 3 million people. Mukerjee argues that the figure should be adjusted upwards to over 5 million. When thinking about the millions of dead resulting from World War II, many atrocities come to mind: the 6 million Jews killed in the concentration camps, half a million Roma, 20 million Soviet citizens, 8 million Chinese, to name only some examples. Not so well-known, especially to people from the imperialist citadels, are those who suffered and died from what Mukerjee calls the "man-made" famine in India, a human catastrophe that could have been easily prevented if Churchill had not refused to assign available ships from Australia to carry their surplus grain to the Bengal region. This famine gets rarely mentioned in British history.

A former writer/editor for Scientific American and a trained scientist in her own right, Mukerjee's preoccupation with the question of hunger and famine led her to delve deeply and thoroughly into the archives of the British War Cabinet and the Ministries of War and Transport, the correspondence between the various major British players, and their memoirs during World War II. Much of this material was first made available in the mid-2000s. Among them are Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Secretary of State to India Leopold Amery (who thought that the British Empire should be contiguous and stretch from Cape Town through Cairo, Baghdad and Calcutta to Sydney) and the successive viceroys to India, Lords Linlithgow and Wavell. In an interview, Mukerjee acknowledges that given where her investigation was leading, she knew that if she were not especially careful, she would be torn apart by those who hated her conclusions.

Mukerjee's prologue provides background to how the British government subjugated India in 1757 and continued robbing it through steep taxation, theft of resources, unequal trade and the exploitation of its people for 200 years under colonial domination until its independence in 1947. Peasants were forced to pay the British East India Company rent for the land they farmed and to turn over a large percentage of the crop yield. The once prosperous exporters in the Bengal region of North-East India (including what is now Bangladesh) became impoverished as British-bound ships loaded with gold, silver, silks and other valuable commodities sailed off to London.

Mukerjee spells out many interpenetrating features that contributed to the famine, contextualizing it in the raging world war and the independence movement against Britain then gathering force. Among those factors was the fall of Burma to the Japanese; the hoarding of rice by brokers from Bengal, other Indian provinces and also Ceylon, creating exorbitant prices; Churchill's intense racism and hatred of Indians and above all, in this reviewer's opinion, his ruthless determination to preserve the British empire. With the onset of World War II, maintaining the empire's interests was Churchill's uppermost goal, and he took decisions around the war effort accordingly. India was already contributing to the war effort on many fronts, from soldiers fighting in the Middle East to sending grain and other exports.

The British army had thousands of troops stationed in India, both British and Indian. The very large Indian army was poorly trained by the British for fear the guns would be turned on them. Feeding the soldiers as well as those involved in industries considered essential to the war effort was considered a priority. This included workers in industries in other colonies like the rubber workers in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). Feeding other civilians didn't fit into the calculus of the war effort.

The British empire was taking a beating in the South Asian theater of war. In 1942 the Japanese captured Singapore, then Burma, one of the largest rice exporters to British colonies and the UK itself. Burma provided 15-20 percent of India's rice consumption. The conquest of Burma also meant that Japan was at India's doorstep, with the threat of imminent invasion.

The British response, euphemistically called the "Denial Policy," was meant to deprive the Japanese of any useful material they might seize in an invasion. All along coastal Bengal, vehicles of any kind (trucks, cars, thousands of bicycles and boats, bullock carts, etc.) were requisitioned by the military authorities and rice stocks were destroyed or removed. In addition, 35,000 families lost their homes and livelihoods to military barracks and air strips.

As Mukerjee describes it, "Boats were the primary form of transport of riverine Bengal. Most villagers were so poor that they either walked or boarded a ferry. Boats took traders to the market, fishers to the sea, potters to their clay pits, and farmers to their plots, which were often marooned between vast swathes of river. ..." Even the viceroy's secretary Leonard Pinnell understood that demolishing boats meant destroying livelihoods. He said "for anyone who knows the Bengal cultivator it was a completely heart-breaking job."

With the fall of Burma, not only did India have to get by without the usual tonnage of rice imports, she also supplied rice to those parts of the British Empire that previously received rice exports from Burma. With the scarcity came the hoarding by Indian businessmen who stood to make huge profits when the rice price skyrocketed.

As evidence of impending disaster grew, on several occasions Viceroy Wavell and Secretary to India Amery appealed to Churchill, the War Cabinet and Shipping Ministries, warning them of the impending food crisis. To Amery, Churchill replied, "If food was so scarce, why hadn't Gandhi died yet" (Gandhi, a leader of the Quit India movement imprisoned along with others seeking independence, was on a hunger strike at the time). To others, Churchill claimed that there were no boats. Previously German U2 submarines were sinking British supply boats. But by 1942 that problem had ceased once the U.S. began building ships for British use and sending airplanes to protect British convoys against German subs. Rather than not enough ships, there was a surplus of ships that did not have enough cargo to fill them, documents Mukerjee. She argues that this was the critical moment when Churchill could have allocated the shipment of wheat from Australia to India. (Canada and the U.S. also volunteered to provide aid.) It would have made hoarding unprofitable and food accessible to the rural population of Bengal province.

To complicate matters, in October 1942, a major cyclone hit Bengal, flooding the land with salt water, destroying every house and tree on the flatlands adjacent to the sea, sweeping away farm animals and leaving a layer of sand that flattened the rice crop. The moisture caused pest infestation, destroying the meager amounts of grain that the peasants had acquired. Some local survivors date the famine as starting from this storm.

Cyclone relief was withheld by the British authorities because the population was "infested" with Quit India movement supporters. Instead they went to ferret them out and set fire to those homes still standing and burned any rice that survived the storm.

The famine struck ferociously in rural Bengal. Mukerjee vividly describes its effect, drawing on interviews with survivors. Many suicides, mercy killings and cases of child abandonment took place among families who could no longer bear to see the wild-eyed, starving faces of their children. Mass prostitution by village mothers, wives or daughters with anyone who had grain often saved whole families. Brothels for soldiers were serviced by the starving young girls from the countryside. Many were lured by promises of a real job and then forced into servitude, in much the same way as today women are forced into prostitution around the world.

The streets of Calcutta were flooded with skeletal figures waiting in soup kitchen lines for a thin gruel, which often failed to keep them alive. One agitated mother appealed to relief workers, "Please, take us first" for her baby's sake, but by the time she finally made it to the front of the queue that was full of others equally desperate, her baby had died. The situation became so serious that people at evening parties attended by the upper classes began discussing remedies. Bodies, dead and nearly alive, were carted out of the city to keep them out of sight as much as possible. Even the dogs preyed and feasted on those near death. Amidst this tragedy, hotels in Calcutta continued to serve five-course meals to those who could afford them.

Much heroism also occurred in confronting the lack of food, with neighbors or older siblings somehow keeping younger ones alive. Children made up half the refugees flocking to Calcutta. They often appeared alone, with no one knowing what village they came from or what happened to their parents. Babies were left abandoned on hospital doorsteps in hopes they would be saved. One survivor, Gourhori Majhi, recounts how he lived by the grace of one relief worker. He told Mukerjee, "the food served at the relief kitchen was like water. The family had sold its utensils and would accept the soup in cupped leaves, but others would snatch even these out of their hands. The child (Gourhori) was fortunate, though, in that his swollen belly caught the eye of a gentleman with the relief operations, who called him aside. 'He gave me a few grains of rice and watched me eat them.' Day after day for months the man had fed him, in secret and a little at a time, so that the body slowly recovered." Officers reprimanded sympathetic rank and file soldiers (Indian and British) stationed there who gave their rations to the starving.

While the Japanese bombarded the city of Calcutta, they never invaded. The Japanese army was bogged down in China, which proved to be "a tough piece of meat" (as Mao Tsetung said) for the occupiers. Unlike Churchill, who feared unleashing the subjugated Indian soldiers, Mao did not fear mobilizing the Chinese masses who saw it in their interests to fight the invading Japanese army, eventually routing it, just as the Soviet masses had broken the back of Hitler's army.

In the backdrop of the complexities of the war situation, the struggle for independence from Britain escalated. The Indian National Congress led by Nehru and Gandhi were part of the backbone of the Quit India movement. The Congress was willing to trade Indian independence in exchange for supporting the British war against Japan. While Gandhi wanted to keep the movement against the British non-violent, his position would have meant dragging the Indian people even deeper into the war—one in which British aims were to keep Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and other colonies.

Nevertheless, the independence leaders were arrested and thousands imprisoned for what was considered to be impeding the war effort. "I have not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire," Churchill famously declared.

In 1940, the British War Cabinet had stated that "if conflict with Congress should arise, it should appear as an outcome of war necessity rather than as a political quarrel unrelated to the war." Mukerjee says that the rise of the independence struggle led Churchill to hate Indians more than ever. But actually, Churchill understood what was objectively at stake. A strong independence movement was a threat to the British empire and India was one of many rebelling colonies wrestling for independence from the colonizers.

The intensity developing in the independence struggle was met by the police killing insurgents and burning down homes and possessions, including the remaining grain that the peasants still had, and gang-raping women. In some rural areas, the insurgents organized the peasants to prevent grain from being sent to businessmen hoarders in Calcutta and were met with a hail of police bullets. As part of the divide and conquer approach of the British and Churchill, the police encouraged Muslims from different villages to join them in looting better-off Hindu homes.

To prove her point, Mukerjee cites many statistics from a broad range of sources about food shipments through the war years, the number of boats available for shipping, and the changed situation in 1943 when the famine became virulent. While acknowledging many contributory factors, she exposes Churchill's monstrous lie that no ships were available when there was a glut of ships available, sailing around with half-empty hulls.

Churchill pit the Muslim League against the National Congress, fanning religious fury and other rivalries, encouraging them to insist on the creation of a separate state for Muslims (today's Pakistan and Bangladesh). With the Congress leaders in prison, the Muslim leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah (who had promised support for the British war effort in exchange for British recognition of his Muslim League as the only organization representing Indian Muslims) commanded the political stage in India. Appealing to Muslim nationalism, the idea of creating a Muslim state inflamed passions and encouraged bloodletting between Muslim and Hindus. Again, ever watchful for the interests of empire, Churchill thought that the creation of Pakistan would make that state beholden to the UK, thus enabling Britain to keep a foothold in the South Asian region.

While even today polls in the UK hail Winston Churchill as a great statesman, perhaps the greatest ever, many people remain unaware of his war crimes. Yet Churchill never hid his desire to keep the British Empire intact. Many of his statements openly state his strongest motivations. In the Spanish Civil War, at first Churchill sided with the fascist General Franco against the Republicans, but he overcame those gut feelings in the interest of the British empire. Hugh Thomas' book The Spanish Civil War (Harper & Row, 1961) quotes Churchill: "Franco has all the right on his side because he loves his country. Also Franco is defending Europe from the communist danger—if you wish to put it in those terms. But I, I am English, and I prefer the triumph of the wrong cause. I prefer that the other side wins, because Franco could be an upset or a threat to British interests."

Churchill had a "bull-dog" grasp of what was best for the interests of British monopoly capital, both at home and in the colonies and neo-colonies where superexploitation built up the wealth of the empire. The economic and social relations embodied in capitalism requires brutal forms of exploitation and oppression of the people and colonies it subjugates in its effort to ever expand. For profit and empire, there is no horror or crime that a statesman for a capitalist-imperialist empire will not commit. The armies of all the imperialist powers criss-crossed the globe in a war over how it would be divided up between them. The significance of this book's title, Churchill's Secret War, in this reviewer's opinion, is that Britain was both using India to wage war against Japan and at the same time waging a no less deadly conflict against the Indian people, who were the booty both sides in World War II sought.

Despicable and criminal as it was, Churchill's racism no doubt spared him of any anguish over the deaths of millions of subjects to Her Majesty, the Queen of England. From the viewpoint of the interests of British imperialism, a famine in India just didn't matter.

The days when European powers enjoyed direct and open government over colonies may be over, but imperialism as an economic and political system in which a handful of countries dominate and bleed the world is still in force. While today is not marked by a war between the imperialists, their invasions, occupations and other armed actions in the name of "humanitarian" ideals and "democracy" are driven by the same kind of interests, even if in different circumstances than those that Churchill so viciously embodied.

A World to Win News Service is put out by A World to Win magazine (aworldtowin.org), a political and theoretical review inspired by the formation of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, the embryonic center of the world's Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties and organizations.

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

A Very Bad Decision

On March 2, a U.S. Immigration Court judge in New York ruled in the case of well-known immigrants' rights activist and Chilean exile Victor Toro, denying his request for political asylum in the U.S. and ordering him deported to Chile.

As readers of Revolution may recall (Revolution #96, revcom.us/a/096/ice-raid-en.html), Victor Toro's case began on July 6, 2007 when Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) agents went down the aisles of an Amtrak train near Rochester, N.Y., demanding to see immigration documents from those that they profiled as immigrants, and 35 people were detained. That this prominent immigrants' rights activist was among the detained made it a major news story at the time. This incident put a spotlight on an increasingly common outrage—ICE agents profiling and detaining people who "look" like immigrants on trains and in bus stations. [The racial profiling involved in this has been further shown by the targeting of another well-known person, Silvio Torres-Saillant, Ph.D., formerly director of the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York and now director of the Latino-Latin American Studies Program at Syracuse University. Dr. Torres-Saillant has reported being stopped by ICE agents three times at upstate bus stations as he began bus trips back to New York City.]

The decision in Victor Toro's case was outrageous on many levels. In powerful testimony, Toro, his family and expert witnesses presented a picture of massive crimes including torture committed against Toro and others in Chile. Toro was among the many thousands of Chileans arrested and tortured by the government of Augusto Pinochet, which seized power through a U.S.-backed coup in September 1973. Secret documents leaked over the years have clearly established that the U.S. government, through U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, played a key role in planning and carrying out this coup.

Testimony presented in Toro's case recounted three torture chambers in Chile where Toro was brutally tortured. Documentation was made of how Toro was declared officially dead by the Chilean military junta government and expelled from the country. Evidence documented how in "Operation Condor," the Chilean security forces, DINA, hunted down and assassinated opponents of the Pinochet regime in different parts of Latin America, the attempted assassination of ex-vice president Bernardo Leighton in Italy in 1975 and the car bomb assassination of former minister [during the presidency of Salvador Allende] Orlando Letelier and his American secretary Ronni Moffitt in the streets of Washington in 1976. Evidence was presented on how DINA was trailing Toro in several countries after he left Chile. Yet the court refused to recognize that Toro would have had very good reason not to have applied for asylum within a year of his entry into the U.S. in 1984, fearing that providing his whereabouts to the U.S. government that worked so closely with the Chilean secret police would give them this information, fearing that such information could get to DINA.

But that wasn't the worst of it. This prosecution, which began during the Bush regime and continued on the same course under Obama, submitted sensational CIA and CIA "think tank" reports attempting to paint Toro and those he worked with in Chile, as "terroristas." A 1970 Time magazine article was submitted by Homeland Security about a land takeover involving several thousand people outside of Santiago, which named Victor Toro as a leader.

The judge upheld the Homeland Security prosecutors' claim that "there has been a fundamental change in circumstances in Chile" and Toro would have no reason to fear returning to Chile now, despite the fact that most of those who tortured him and others still freely roam in Chile, including some still in positions of authority.

Doctors testified about Toro's disability, back problems and emotional distress stemming from the aftermath of his torture, continuing up to now. Witnesses documented the important work done by the cultural/political center "Vamos a La Peña" in the South Bronx that Toro co-founded. Supporters packed the courtroom every day showing how precious Toro is for many people. Yet the judge has now ordered him to be expelled to Chile, separated from his family, child and grandchild, and friends of 25 years in the South Bronx.

The cruelty and heartless nature of this decision and the legal framework that the judge followed is an indictment of this system. What kind of system is it that orders and assists in the murder of foreign country presidents, the killing and torture of thousands, the driving of thousands to the U.S. and then forces those immigrants who come here into decades of lives of fear—hounded by the authorities and subject to targeting and detention by ICE agents?

Lest any think this was an isolated incident—take a look at what Obama said on his visit to Chile, just 10 days after Toro was denied asylum. At a news conference in Chile, a Chilean reporter asked Obama whether "the United States is willing to ask for forgiveness for what it did in those very difficult years in the '70s in Chile." Obama simply answered firmly that no such apology would be forthcoming, and said that the U.S. and Chile could not be "trapped by our history" and insisted that he could not "speak to all of the policies of the past."

This outrageous decision is being appealed and the struggle against this attack is continuing and should be supported. Victor has declared that every day he remains here he will "fight for the rights of immigrants in the United States" and to expose and shut down the U.S. torture chambers at Guantánamo and elsewhere around the world.

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Thoughts on the Left Forum and BAsics

I was recently able to attend the Left Forum in New York, an annual gathering of progressive thinkers struggling with some important questions. It was very interesting for me to see the line developed by Bob Avakian in contention with other lines. Among many of the panelists and attendees, there was a spirit of disgust with the way things are now and a yearning for something far better. On that basis, there was a lot to unite with. But at the same time, there was a lot to contend with. Many people's understanding of the fundamental problem and solution was often unscientific and lacking in scope. When held up against the visionary work of Bob Avakian, it was clear what line actually had the scientific grounding and the recognition of the full breadth of what we're confronting, and therefore carried the only real possibility of leading to the full emancipation of humanity.

As I sat through different discussions and heard various panelists and attendees speak, I constantly had the same thought: "Man! I wish I had my copy of BAsics already!" [ed. note: this was before BAsics became available] For so many questions that were asked, I knew there was a quote from Avakian that would sharply and scientifically speak to what was being raised. For example, in one panel I attended, a young woman who looked about student-age said that she truly felt that capitalism itself was the problem, but that she was struggling with what she could do now to bring a new world into being. At the time, of course, I thought: "I wish I had my BAsics!" Because I knew that there is a quote from BA about how we need to be working now to prepare for and hasten the emergence of a revolutionary situation and a revolutionary people. But I couldn't remember the quote fully and speak to the whole breadth of what he lays out.

Well, the good news is that I do have my copy of BAsics now! And here is that quote:

"We hear from masses of people—and I've see this in reports recently—statements or sentiments along the following lines: 'I know revolution is needed,' or 'I know revolution is what's gotta happen at some point,' but 'what do we do now, what do we do in the meantime?'

"Answer? Make revolution. Fight the Power, and Transform the People, for Revolution. Prepare minds and organize forces for the time when a revolutionary situation and a revolutionary people, in the millions and millions, emerges. Work actively and consciously to bring this time closer and to bring things to where we are in the best position to act decisively when this does come about. Devote your life, energy, daring and creativity to confronting, fighting through and overcoming the obstacles to making this happen, and to winning more and more people to doing the same."

Over and over again, the same phenomenon happened. Someone in the audience or one of the panelists would raise a point or a question that really was demanding me to read aloud from BAsics. I got a living sense of what a tool this book will be, not only for people just starting to get familiar with Avakian and the revolutionary movement, but also for people who have been studying his work to get into it much more deeply and to wield the line developed by Avakian and the RCP; to demarcate what the fundamental nature of this system is and how to break free of today's oppression and to get to a far better, more liberating world.

In a funny way, this experience made me think of those iPhone commercials—the ones that present problems like finding a recipe or a map and end with "There's an app for that." When we confront the questions that come out in the process of making revolution and transforming the people, we can answer with confidence, "There's a quote for that!" and then pull out our copies of BAsics and really get into it.

Here are some more examples of times when I thought: "There's a quote for that!"

1. In one discussion, a young man who looked to be in his late 20s said that he was struggling to understand the class dynamics of the U.S. and that he didn't know whether there was a real proletariat in this country because many factory workers could lead "comfortable" lifestyles. The panelists spoke to this question by saying that because of the work of the unions many factory workers were able to ascend to the middle class, and so maybe a better understanding of the proletariat in this country is that it is made up of cubicle workers who are making less money and aren't able to unionize. I was really struck that not a single panelist talked about the situation for Black people in this country in relation to this question! I thought it was a profoundly inaccurate understanding of the true class dynamics at play.

"If you want to talk about who owes whom—if you keep in mind everything the capitalists (as well as the slave owners) have accumulated through all the labor Black people have carried out in this country and the privileges that have been passed out to people on that basis—there wouldn't even be a U.S. imperialism as there is today if it weren't for the exploitation of Black people under this system. Not that the exploitation of Black people is the whole of it—there has been a lot of other people exploited, both in the U.S. and internationally, by this ruling class. But there wouldn't be a U.S. imperialism in the way there is today if it weren't for the exploitation of Black people under slavery and then after slavery in the sharecropping system and in the plants and other workplaces in a kind of caste-like oppression in the cities."

–From BAsics, Chapter 1: A Worldwide System of Exploitation and Oppression; Quote #12

2. One common topic of discussion was leadership and what kind of leadership and organization people thought was needed in order to create change. In one discussion, a panelist said that she thought the best way to create change, and even challenge this system, was by embodying the spirit of "Think Global, Act Local," and that people should set up small local organizations that address local problems, such as land conservation. I was thinking that this doesn't even begin to address the real magnitude of what is created by this system, let alone what it will take to bring a new one into being!

"What kind of organization you see as necessary depends on what you're trying to do. If all you're trying to do is make a few reforms, if you're not trying to really confront and deal with this whole system, if you're not trying to make revolution and transform society and the world, then you don't need this kind of vanguard party."

–From BAsics, Chapter 6: Revolutionary Responsibility and Leadership; Quote #2

3. In another discussion, in response to comments from another revolutionary, one person said "Look, what you're talking about, getting to a new world, that sounds great. But, it's never going to happen. We need to think more practically."

"This is not a fantasy. These are the things that have been done in socialist societies that have existed—or they're things that, on the basis on that experience, we have summed up and are learning more deeply need to be done. This is all possible. It's not some pipe dream. This is what happens when the masses of people rise up and take control over society and this is what waits to be done."

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

My Experience selling International Women's Day t-shirts at school

The idea had been raised of selling the International Women's Day t-shirts at school for the bookstore. I agreed with the idea, thinking it a cool way to fundraise. At the time, I had no idea of the impact this would have not only on me, but my school as a community.

I had sold $100 worth of t-shirts in a week. Throughout the week, people had come up to me and asked, "Are you the one selling the t-shirts?" Word had flown about like wildfire as more began to wear the shirts. I had fellow progressive friends publicizing, practically being my salesman! It was a unifying feeling for a mostly girl occupied school. People had begun to talk.

Without my encouragement, dialogue had been ignited. My whole group of friends started talking on the issue of abortion. Watching this intense conversation develop, I was quickly satisfied. The t-shirts were a success. It had allowed students to start to think about global issues, themselves as women, and their roles in society.

As for myself, the whole process was an intimate one. People regarded me as a feminist, which I felt was accurate because of this experience. Not only was I learning the history of women, but modern women of today, as I engaged with my peers. I had been in heated discussions on the topic of abortion and women's equality before, but never on this level.

It was an eye-opening experience. My "customers" acknowledged the progress women have made over time, but what I have learned is that the battle is not yet over. The sexism that still remains must be abolished. And this awareness is the ideal that has been revived once again.

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Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

Taking out the Statement On the Strategy for Revolution at the National Science Teachers Association Convention:

The week started with a small group of us going out to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) national convention. This 4-day conference was attended by thousands of scientists and educators from all over the world and included presentations and symposia on climate change, nutrition, engineering, life science, earth science and space science. (Go to www.nsta.org/conferences for more info on this conference.) There was a special session devoted to teaching evolution "when students, parents or administrators make claims that evolution is not a science." There were major addresses given by astrophysicist Jeff Goldstein, NASA astronaut Bernard Harris and evolution expert Eugenie Scott.

We approached people with the BAsics card and On the Strategy for Revolution statement together—emphasizing that these represent a scientific plan and theory for making revolution and getting to a whole new world. A good percentage of people took these... like maybe 1/3. Some took the materials and started reading them in the foyer or would stand to the side and flip through the statement. Some would pass by—take a look and walk away—others would more politely say that they had to go because they didn't want to be late for their next workshop. And some stopped to talk. Overall we felt that there was a certain openness to checking it out, and within the openness, some contention over various topics would surface and the engagement would deepen. The idea that we were talking about making a revolution to uproot the whole status quo and replace it with a whole different society that's not based on profit in command/commodity production and relations struck many people as something that they had never considered before—but were willing to poke into examining. Overall, it was evident from just short comments we got that there was a unsettled feeling coming from different angles—the extremeness of the attacks on education, attacks on teachers like the union busting "trend setting" in Wisconsin, and suppression of critical thinking in the academic arena. One phenomenon that we noticed was that a high percentage of the Black teachers took the materials and responded with agreement. My sense from some conversations with Black teachers is that they feel that they are especially isolated and under attack. For one thing, the percentage of Black teachers in most school districts is low and decreasing.

One young white woman was excited by the literature, the revolutionary strategy, the Constitution. The whole perspective of struggle for a completely new society and world really hit the spot for her. She is working in a district with a lot of non-white kids and it was challenging, but it was where she wanted to be. She said that she was working with people there who were like-minded and would all be excited to hear about what we are doing—and would like to use some of these materials in the classroom.

One middle-aged teacher from the Middle East came by. At the beginning, there was a lot of unity around the importance of the uprisings going on—that this represented a blow to a repressive setup of the U.S. and the potential for a new day. But when we pushed further into the issue of what kind of society the world needed to move towards, sharp differences emerged. He held to the view that the autocracies needed to be discarded but his model was a multi-party democracy. He had come to the conclusion that communism had failed, and cited the collapse of the Soviet Union as the evidence that convinced him. We had some back and forth with him, but in the end, he said that he had made up his mind...and refused to get any of the literature.

A Black woman science teacher in her late 30's from Alabama expressed a lot of agreement around the issue of the attacks on teachers and education and also agreed that the problem went deeper than reactionary public policy. She expressed agreement that the system itself was corrupt and that there is a need for radical change. She was seeing education in her area as being undermined and said she saw a bleak future for the youth. She took the issue with the statement On the Strategy for Revolution and contributed a few dollars.

One middle-aged, rather well-dressed teacher came up and was interested in talking. While there was a lot of agreement that there is something basically wrong with society, as the conversation unfolded, it became clear that he saw the essence of this as corruption and a conspiratorial cabal, the Illuminati. Once again, there was back and forth and he seemed to bend away from his position at times, but did not embrace the view that we were advocating. However, he did take the Strategy for Revolution issue to read and we later saw him in a restaurant reading it.

A group of people came by from Wisconsin, wearing Wisconsin sweatshirts. We talked to one of the women in the group and she was of the view that things were moving towards some kind of general strike in her state. She also agreed that the problem was deeper than public policy and united with the view that the system itself was fundamentally at fault. She and some of her colleagues took the Strategy for Revolution issue and other literature.

We had an interesting conversation with a teacher from Lebanon who bought the Manifesto. He got the Strategy for Revolution issue and said that he had never heard that there were revolutionary forces right here in the U.S. preparing for revolution. (He's been here for 10 years.) His comments were sprinkled with comments about the devastating and brutal effects of imperialism in the Middle East and his spirits are now lifted by the uprisings going on. He seemed to be very inquisitive about how to make a successful revolution in the midst of the resistance. We got into the example of the 1917 experience in Russia. He was also drawn towards checking out Bob Avakian's new synthesis and how it can be applied—this is what drew him towards getting the Manifesto.

Overall, many important questions came to the fore off of stretching a line to these forces. It was a very worthwhile experience and it was good that before going we had reviewed the section from Part 2 of Birds and Crocodiles [by Bob Avakian] about the intelligentsia and communist revolution.

One lesson we learned about agitating for people to contribute money: one teacher went by us—took one look at everything and said... "Yeah, yeah... I know all about that" and walked away. One of us said loudly (actually talking to our group), "Well if he knows all about it... then he should stop and get some multiple issues to take out and contribute some money." The teacher heard this comment, stopped in his tracks and doubled back and said "you know, you're right... I'll take some and here's some money."

We made plans for this a month prior to the protest at our first Revolution brunch gathering. At that time... We discussed how this would be a significant outpouring to pay attention to and make advance plans for. Then... the issue with Statement on the Strategy for Revolution came out and the promotional material for BAsics. So—we thought—this is great timing! We took guidance from the Strategy for Revolution statement itself and were motivated and inspired by the quote from our Chairman in that issue. Our approach was to really push out with the two mainstays [Ed. note: the two mainstays are a culture of appreciation, promotion and popularization of what has been brought forward by BA and what he represents, and our Party's newspaper as the "hub and pivot"—and the scaffolding—of the movement we are building for revolution]—concentrated in various kinds of materials that we brought up there—and apply what we learned during the campaign about the impact of really saturating the crowd. We took the Statement on Strategy for Revolution, 2,000 of the Message and Call and back issues of the paper on Egypt and an old issue about the student protests at UC Berkeley.

So—we were hastening our preparations and awaiting with anxious anticipation for this event. Our crew, again only a small group, read the new article on the significance of Wisconsin that was online in Revolution on the way up there. We were a bit worried about the rain... How much this would dampen things in terms of turn-out.

The youth didn't let some rain stop them! At first, just a few hundred started coming in from the right side of the Capitol... But a little later... We heard drumming, loud chanting of 7,000 youth from ages of 17 to 23 years old streaming down Capitol street—heading straight for the steps of the Capitol. We quickly got right into the midst of the stream—and started getting out the two twin materials of the Strategy for Revolution statement and the BAsics card. Many youth started grabbing for these—some would put their hands into the plastic bags and get a whole bundle to pass out... When we would say the word "Revolution"—this caught their attention... they would say things like: "Yeah... Give me that" ... Or "Yeah... It's about time for that!" "Oh... You actually have a strategy for making a REVOLUTION?!" In the pouring rain, we were literally surrounded and rushed by a whole tsunami of youth from all over California (Sacramento, San Jose. 30 bus loads from San Francisco City College, Fresco, Evergreen College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College, Monterey, Chico, Los Angeles, San Diego, Cabrillo College, Modesto City College, Mendocino City College. Alameda College, Skyline College and Dominguez). These were fresh, vibrant and full of a fighting spirit multi-national youth that we're NOT going to let these cuts go down without a loud and emphatic statement. And for some reason there were groupings of older Chinese workers in the midst of this young crew.

When we talked about communism, there were responses of earnest inquisitiveness... Wanting to know exactly what that is and how can that kind of vision be realized out of the present situation... We didn't encounter a whole lot of counter strategies... Mainly a desire to know what this one was all about. After we ran out of the Strategy for Revolution statement, we got out the Message and Call and other issues of the paper. We would see clusters of youth opening up the paper... and reading it.

Examples of how these materials were circulating and percolating in their minds came out in several different experiences: In one instance, a Latino student came up to the table and looked at the Message and Call and said... "Hey, I know you guys... You're from Revolution Books in Berkeley..." He then took up a whole stack of the Message and Call and said that he would get them out into the crowd and turned around to his friends and told them... "You gotta see this stuff... It's from the RCP and Bob Avakian... This is the SHIT!" Other students came up to the table saying... "I want THAT"—pointing to the revolutionary strategy statement.

One woman had gotten the statement from someone else and approached the table and said... "I want to know what this is ALL about." When I started to get into the revolutionary strategy piece more... she said... "No... I said I want to know what ALL THIS IS About—THIS WHOLE revolution thing." I gave her a brief overview of the WHOLE thing... And highlighting the important leadership role of Bob Avakian to this WHOLE thing. She looked down at all the literature on the table and scanned each one... and said... "Let me think about that" and walked away. About 10 minutes later...she came back with questions about what the revolutionary overthrow of this system would really mean. After some discussion she walked away and came back with another question: "But how about afterwards—Will there just be another set of exploiters/oppressors replacing the ones we have now?" I showed her the new Constitution—which she looked through. Then, she looked at the image on the T-shirt... And asked—"how's he going to be a different kind of leader of the future society than what we have now?" We introduced Bob Avakian to her using the section in the paper and the table of contents of BAsics. She ended up saying that she is not ready to take up any multiple issue of anything yet... But picked up the revolutionary strategy statement, the Message and Call, the statement on Egypt by Bob Avakian, the BAsics card and a couple of issues Revolution newspaper as if she was in a candy store and stuffed it all into a plastic bag and said... "Yeah... lots to read and think about..." There were other engaging conversations that surfaced.

Revolution #230, April 24, 2011

On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World An Evening of Music, Visual Art, Poetry and Readings

An Evening of Music, Visual Art, Poetry and Readings

Artists and Presenters

Production

What People Are Saying...

Young Black man, artist/police brutality activist/educator

Latino man (translated from Spanish)

Black college student

Young white man

Asian-American philosophy student

Young woman

Student, NYC

White woman, about 60, from New York suburb

A compañero who is unemployed (translated from Spanish)

Young Black man

A young Latina who volunteered to build for the event (translated from Spanish)

Black woman

Black woman, college student

April 11 Celebration: What People Are Saying...

30ish Black woman

Asian-American university student, studying philosophy

Young Latina (interview originally in Spanish)

A couple in early 30s

Young white student

40ish Black woman

Young man

Young Black man

Young Latino dancer

50-60ish Black woman

Black woman college student

Young Latino (interview originally in Spanish)

Young woman

Two college students

Young Black man

Black woman

White woman, rock music journalist

White college student

Young white man

Young woman from Spain

Latino musician/educator from Texas

Two women from a NYC suburb

Two community college students

A compañero who is unemployed (interview originally in Spanish)

Black man, 67, recently laid off from a hospital

White woman with Gaza t-shirt, from a NYC suburb

Black man from Boston

Anthropology student (interview originally in Spanish)

Victor Toro, Chilean exile and immigrant-rights activist who is facing deportation [see article about his case on revcom.us]. (Interview originally in Spanish.)

Latino (interview originally in Spanish)

Immigrant compañera (interview originally in Spanish)

College student

Black college student

White woman college student

White woman college student who was volunteering at the Revolution Books table at the event

A theology student

Iranian-American in his 20s

Black college student

Black man, veteran of the '60s who rode a bus from Houston with BA shirt to come to the Harlem event

Young white man

Get In... Get Out... Get Connected

From RCP Publications Four Ways Everyone Can Help Spread BAsics

On May 1st, 2011...

U.S. Empire Islamic Fundamentalism Both Deadly. IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

Some Key Principles of Socialist Sustainable Development

A. The International Dimension and Internationalism

B. Consciously Planning and Regulating Growth; Protecting and Preserving a Variety of Ecosystems to Prevent Environmental Collapse and to Ensure the Health of the Planet for Future Generations

C. Transforming the Structure of Industrial Production, Agriculture, and Transport

D. A Different Kind of City and Social Fabric

E. Struggling Against Consumerism

F. Valuing the Planet, Becoming Caretakers of the Planet

Revolution Interviews Raymond Lotta: The Events in Libya in Historical Perspective... Muammar Qaddafi in Class Perspective... The Question of Leadership in Communist Perspective

Chernobyl in Japan: the Capitalist Nuclear Horror

A Shameful Response

Scientists' Warnings Ignored

A Need for Outrage and Resistance

Pigs Give Award to Fellow Pig

BEAR WITNESS!

Call to Counter Protest at Support Rallies for the SPD Stand Against the Justification of Police Brutality and Murder!

Release of BAsics Celebrated in Houston

On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics:
A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World
An Evening of Music, Visual Art, Poetry and Readings

April 11 Celebration:
What People Are Saying...

From RCP Publications
Four Ways Everyone Can Help Spread BAsics

On
May 1st, 2011...

U.S. Empire
Islamic Fundamentalism
Both Deadly.
IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

Call to Counter Protest at Support Rallies for the SPD
Stand Against the Justification of Police Brutality and Murder!