{"id":2219,"date":"2011-02-26T00:12:21","date_gmt":"2011-02-26T08:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2011-02-26T00:24:19","modified_gmt":"2011-02-26T08:24:19","slug":"rouge-forum-update-no-masters-no-gods-no-sellouts-no-fascists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-update-no-masters-no-gods-no-sellouts-no-fascists\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Update: No Masters! No Gods! No Sellouts! No Fascists!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">We Say Fightback: Well Grubbed Old Mole! <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>All out March Second! Rescue Education from the Ruling Classes!<\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Emancipate-Education-for-All-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2260\" title=\"Emancipate-Education-for-All 2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Emancipate-Education-for-All-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Emancipate-Education-for-All-2.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Emancipate-Education-for-All-2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oQ9HJqKVgDA\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oQ9HJqKVgDA<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"David Harvey on Class and Class Struggle\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UhqD3az9cZ4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Eric Foner: Return of the Class Struggle: <\/strong> Walker has threatened to send in the National Guard to clear the capitol of protesters, a throwback to the days when troops were regularly employed to crush strikes. It will be interesting to see whether the American military, unlike its counterparts in Egypt, is willing to use violence against fellow citizens demanding their rights.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stop LAPD Stealing of Immigrant&#039;s Cars\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C0lf4kENkxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Henry Anderson on His Struggle to Expose the Bracero Programs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"henryweb.mov  Harvest of Loneliness q&amp;a part1\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z9MMSI-0m-4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Harvest of Loneliness trailer.mov\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hSEjTOopNuQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations to Gil Gonzalez on this Important Film<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ex-CIA Agent Beaten and Arrested at Hillbillary Speech:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ray McGovern Bloodied, Bruised and Arrested at Clinton Speech\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DqJv5ZOXQ2s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Walker-Koch Prank:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Koch Whore: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WBnSv3a6Nh4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Walker\/Koch Prank Described:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Republican Gov. Scott Walker, believing he was getting a telephone call from billionaire campaign contributor David Koch, discussed the possibility of &#8220;planting some troublemakers&#8221; among people protesting his budget repair bill and confidential strategies for pushing the bill through \u2014 all with a New York-based blogger who recorded the call.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation was posted by the website the Buffalo Beast, which claimed that the conversation took place Tuesday. Instead of Koch, the co-owner of Koch Industries and key backer of the conservative Americans for Prosperity, Walker appears to have been speaking with Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy.<\/p>\n<p>In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Walker said he won&#8217;t be distracted by the prank call, and he&#8217;ll push forward with a bill to limit the power of public employee unions.<\/p>\n<p>Walker stood by his comments on the call, saying they were no different than what he has said publicly.<\/p>\n<p>During the some-20-minute phone call, the prankster asked if there was anything he could do to help \u2014 such as &#8220;planting some troublemakers&#8221; among the protesters.<\/p>\n<p>Walker paused, then said, &#8220;We thought about that.&#8221; \u00a0http:\/\/host.madison.com\/wsj\/news\/local\/govt-and-politics\/article_7f7b33ce-3f6e-11e0-b629-001cc4c002e0.html\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/BREAK-CHAINS.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2271\" title=\"BREAK CHAINS\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/BREAK-CHAINS.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"382\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/BREAK-CHAINS.png 382w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/BREAK-CHAINS-300x212.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Red Flags on the March in Greece&#8211;Fighting Cops:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Greek Police, Protesters Clash As Workers Strike\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C1G1ffSpa0o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The NEA-AFL-CIO&#8217;s Fake &#8220;Save the Middle Class&#8221; Rallies:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/AFL-We-Are-One1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2289\" title=\"AFL We Are One\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/AFL-We-Are-One1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"144\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The last two weeks have made abstractions into realities easily seen.<br \/>\n*It is possible to fight back and win. That&#8217;s the main lesson. It is right to rebel and, even considering tragic sacrifices, victories are possible.<br \/>\n*School workers do sit in a key, centripetal, organizing point of North American society. School workers are under attack, but only after attacks on the mentally ill, welfare recipients, the fake Drug War, and industrial workers all succeeded \u2014 proof that an injury to one only goes before an injury to all, an ineluctable certainty the AFL-CIO persistently chose to ignore, spitting in the face of those who died fighting for labor&#8217;s gains, in contempt of history itself.<br \/>\n*The working class taken as a whole, is key. Workers&#8217; strikes in Egypt toppled Mubarek.<br \/>\n*It is necessary and proper to work with troops. Will troops, now, shoot Americans if called upon? At this moment, probably. Not forever. The economic draft, more and more, makes troops an unreliable ally for the rich.<br \/>\n*But in the interaction of the many ways to examine history, from culture\/religion to sex\/gender to nation\/tribe&#8211;what stands above as the organizing factor is class struggle. Those who deny that, now, lie. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.substancenews.net\/articles.php?page=2038&#038;section=Article\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.substancenews.net\/articles.php?page=2038&#038;section=Article<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>You Can Call the Madison Teachers&#8217; Inc. (sic) Crisis Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madisonteachers.org\/hot%20topics\/Crisis%20Committee%202010-11-WL%20022511.pdf\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.madisonteachers.org\/hot%20topics\/Crisis%20Committee%202010-11-WL%20022511.pdf<\/a><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The Little Red Schoolhouse:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/littlered-rosa.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2291\" title=\"littlered-rosa\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/littlered-rosa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/littlered-rosa.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/littlered-rosa-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Once, 300,00 kids Attended Detroit Schools. Is this the End? What Kills DPS? Capitalism. Racism. Democrats. A lunatic School Board. Corruption. Incompetence. Leaders of the DFT.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools. \u00a0State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district&#8217;s books by closing half of its schools, swelling high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidating operations. \u00a0http:\/\/detnews.com\/article\/20110221\/SCHOOLS\/102210355<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quisling Weingarten Begs to Dump Tenure:<\/strong><strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Arne-Duncan-Weingarten.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2265\" title=\"Arne Duncan Weingarten\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Arne-Duncan-Weingarten.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Arne-Duncan-Weingarten.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Arne-Duncan-Weingarten-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong>Responding to criticism that tenure gives even poor teachers a job for life, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, announced a plan Thursday to overhaul how teachers are evaluated and dismissed. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/25\/education\/25teacher.html?_r=1&#038;ref=education\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/25\/education\/25teacher.html?_r=1&#038;ref=education<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Providence RI Fires all Teachers: But We&#8217;re Not Detroit! <\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t plan on being Detroit,\u201d Mr. Taveras said. \u201cIt won\u2019t happen here. We care too much about education, and we\u2019ll do everything we can to make sure our kids are in class sizes that are appropriate and led by great teachers.\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/26\/us\/26providence.html?hp\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/26\/us\/26providence.html?hp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The International War of the Rich on the Poor:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pilger: The Arab Revolt is a Fight vs US Fascism\/corporate state:<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/death_to_fascists-240x180.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2263\" title=\"death_to_fascists-240x180\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/death_to_fascists-240x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The revolt in the Arab world is not merely against a resident dictator, but against a worldwide economic tyranny designed by the US Treasury and imposed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which have ensured that rich countries like Egypt are reduced to vast sweatshops, with half the population earning less than $2 a day. The people&#8217;s triumph in Cairo was the first blow against what Benito Mussolini called corporatism, a word that appears in his definition of fascism. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.truth-out.org\/behind-arab-revolt-a-word-we-dare-not-speak68036\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.truth-out.org\/behind-arab-revolt-a-word-we-dare-not-speak68036<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pacifism or Revolution? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Libya Rising and the Implications: Stratfor<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Libya.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2226\" title=\"Libya\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Libya.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Libya.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Libya-300x238.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Libya\u2019s population is split in half: Leader Moammar Gadhafi\u2019s power base is in Tripoli in the extreme west, the opposition is concentrated in Benghazi in the east, with a 600 kilometer-wide gulf of nearly empty desert in between.<\/p>\n<p>This effectively gives the country two political factions, two energy-producing basins, two oil output infrastructures. Economically at least, the seeds of protracted conflict \u2014 regardless of what happens with Gadhafi or any political changes after he departs \u2014 have already been sown. If Libya veers towards civil war, each side will have its own source of income to feed on, as well as a similar income source on the other side to target. There have not been any attacks on the energy sector yet, but the threats to stability \u2014 overt and implied \u2014 have been sufficient to nudge most international oil firms operating in Libya to evacuate their staffs.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/libya1.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2283\" title=\"libya1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/libya1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"529\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/libya1.gif 529w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/libya1-300x188.gif 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>US&#8217; Puppets in Iraq Tremble as People Rise: <\/strong> a string of violent demonstrations convulsed the country, challenging the tenuous security situation. The rallies in more than 10 cities were modeled after the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and they brought together a chorus of anger at local and national governments. The protests were the largest public outpourings in Iraq since last summer, when thousands raged against the country\u2019s decaying electricity grid and regular blackouts.<\/p>\n<p>like many other demonstrations throughout Iraq, they quickly spiraled out of control as protesters pulled down two concrete blast walls that blocked access to a bridge leading to the Green Zone. Rock-throwing demonstrators clashed with security forces who, in turn, beat many of the protesters, fired water cannons at them and kept them from crossing the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>In the volatile northern city of Mosul, security forces fired on a group of protesters who had set the governor\u2019s office on fire, killing five people and wounding at least 15. Fatal clashes also erupted in Anbar Province, near Kirkuk, in Basra and in heavily Sunni Muslim towns north of Baghdad, pitting demonstrators against local or national security forces, according to security and hospital officials across the country. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/26\/world\/middleeast\/26iraq.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/26\/world\/middleeast\/26iraq.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Iran Cracks Down: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong>In response, the government unleashed what witnesses said was an extraordinary number of security forces to violently battle the crowds. Witnesses said mobs of anti-riot police and plainclothes Basij militia lined the streets and on several occasions fired directly into the crowd and beat protesters with steel batons. In one neighborhood, the Basij took over a commercial building and dropped tear gas canisters from the roof onto the protesters, witnesses said.<\/p>\n<p>Basij militia dressed in black shot and killed two young men in Tehran&#8217;s Vanak and Vali Asr squares, according to witness accounts posted on opposition websites. The victims haven&#8217;t been identified. Dozens have been injured and arrested, according to witnesses. <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052748703498804576156041487406056.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052748703498804576156041487406056.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The US Flees Pech Valley, once &#8220;Central&#8221; To Afghan War: <\/strong>it is an emotional issue for American troops, who fear that their service and sacrifices could be squandered. At least 103 American soldiers have died in or near the valley\u2019s maze of steep gullies and soaring peaks, according to a count by The New York Times, and many times more have been wounded, often severely.<\/p>\n<p>Military officials say they are sensitive to those perceptions. \u201cPeople say, \u2018You are coming out of the Pech\u2019; I prefer to look at it as realigning to provide better security for the Afghan people,\u201d said Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, the commander for eastern Afghanistan. \u201cI don\u2019t want the impression we\u2019re abandoning the Pech.\u201d \u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/25\/world\/asia\/25afghanistan.html?_r=1&amp;hp<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Us-invasions.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2279\" title=\"Us invasions\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Us-invasions.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Us-invasions.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Us-invasions-300x260.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>US Vetoes UN resolution on Israel&#8217;s Expansionism: <\/strong>The US has vetoed an Arab resolution at the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories as an obstacle to peace.<\/p>\n<p>All 14 other members of the Security Council backed the resolution, which had been endorsed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).<\/p>\n<p>It was the first veto exercised by the Obama administration which had promised better relations with the Muslim world. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-middle-east-12512732\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-middle-east-12512732<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Woo Hoo! Hey! Imperialists! You Are Losing! <\/strong>What we have created instead, West shows, is a vast culture of dependency: Americans are fighting and dying, while the Afghans by and large stand by and do nothing to help them. Afghanistan\u2019s leaders, from the presidential palace in Kabul to the river valleys in the Pashtun heartland, are enriching themselves, often criminally, on America\u2019s largesse. The Taliban, whatever else they do, fight hard and for very little reward. American soldiers, handcuffed by strict rules of engagement, have surrendered the initiative to their enemies. Most important, the Afghan people, though almost certainly opposed to a Taliban redux, are equally wary of both the Americans and their Afghan \u201cleaders.\u201d They will happily take the riches lavished on them by the Americans, but they will not risk their lives for either the Americans or their own government. The Afghans are waiting to see who prevails, but prevailing is impossible without their help. \u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/27\/books\/review\/Filkins-t.html?pagewanted=2&amp;nl=books&amp;emc=booksupdateema1<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chinese Social Fascists Crack Down Promptly: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fascism-warning.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2248\" title=\"fascism warning\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fascism-warning.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fascism-warning.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fascism-warning-277x300.jpg 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chinese officials on Sunday cracked down against protests, or rumors of them, sending police to detain dissidents and breakup public gatherings in the capital and Shanghai.<\/p>\n<p>After Internet messages calling for demonstrations in 13 cities surfaced on Saturday, apparently from Chinese language sites based overseas, there were reports of activists being preemptively hauled away.<\/p>\n<p>Very few Chinese responded, and in only a couple of cities, but Beijing\u2019s authoritarian regime still mobilized large teams of police to ensure all remained quiet.<\/p>\n<p>The heavy response by Chinese officials was a reminder of the government\u2019s low tolerance for any hint of political discord. The country\u2019s combination of surveillance, sophisticated management of information, and a willingness to deploy large numbers of security forces has so far allowed it to cut off even the most remote of challenges to the Chinese Communist Party. \u00a0http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/2011\/02\/20\/109074\/china-cracks-down-on-protest-threats.html<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yippee! War Means Work! Boeing Wins Killer Contract!<\/strong> Lawmakers said Chicago-based Boeing Co. has won the $35-billion contract to build a fleet of aerial refueling tankers, possibly the culmination of a dramatic decade-long battle that the aerospace world has been following. The bitter fight between Airbus parent company European Aeronautic Defense &amp; Space Co., or EADS, and archrival Boeing. has been hard fought. There are tens of thousands of jobs at stake, and many in the defense industry believe that the lucrative tanker contract could be the last new major Pentagon purchase for years to come.<br \/>\nBoeing has said that its winning bid would mean about 4,500 jobs in California, even though the bulk of assembly work will be done at an aircraft production plant in the Seattle area. (LA times)<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Taibbi: Why Aren&#8217;t the Banksters in Jail?<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Banksters.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2234\" title=\"Banksters\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Banksters.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Banksters.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/Banksters-300x220.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Everything&#8217;s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s your whole story right there. Hell, you don&#8217;t even have to write the rest of it. Just write that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I put down my notebook. &#8220;Just that?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. &#8220;Everything&#8217;s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Nobody goes to jail. This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall Street embroiled in obscene criminal scandals that impoverished millions and collectively destroyed hundreds of billions, in fact, trillions of dollars of the world&#8217;s wealth \u2014 and nobody went to jail. Nobody, that is, except Bernie Madoff, a flamboyant and pathological celebrity con artist, whose victims happened to be other rich and famous people.<\/p>\n<p>The rest of them, all of them, got off. Not a single executive who ran the companies that cooked up and cashed in on the phony financial boom \u2014 an industrywide scam that involved the mass sale of mismarked, fraudulent mortgage-backed securities \u2014 has ever been convicted. Their names by now are familiar to even the most casual Middle American news consumer: companies like AIG, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Most of these firms were directly involved in elaborate fraud and theft. Lehman Brothers hid billions in loans from its investors. Bank of America lied about billions in bonuses. Goldman Sachs failed to tell clients how it put together the born-to-lose toxic mortgage deals it was selling. What&#8217;s more, many of these companies had corporate chieftains whose actions cost investors billions \u2014 from AIG derivatives chief Joe Cassano, who assured investors they would not lose even &#8220;one dollar&#8221; just months before his unit imploded, to the $263 million in compensation that former Lehman chief Dick &#8220;The Gorilla&#8221; Fuld conveniently failed to disclose. Yet not one of them has faced time behind bars. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/news\/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?page=1\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/news\/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?page=1<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>BushSkank Meets Dictator and Hugs all Around&#8211;2008<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/rice-gaddafi.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2244\" title=\"rice-gaddafi\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/rice-gaddafi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/rice-gaddafi.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/rice-gaddafi-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUS Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met Libya&#8217;s Muammar Gaddafi on a visit to the north African country US officials are hailing as &#8220;historic&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>She is the first US secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953.<\/p>\n<p>The pair met at Mr Gaddafi&#8217;s compound in Tripoli, which was hit in US bombing raids ordered by Ronald Reagan in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>Libya was on the US state department list of sponsors of terrorism until 2003, when it abandoned weapons of mass destruction and renounced terrorism. \u00a0http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/7599199.stm<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mother Jones Charts on Inequality (more on the link):<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/motherjones.com\/politics\/2011\/02\/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">motherjones.com\/politics\/2011\/02\/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph<\/a> <strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/inequality-whoswinning_3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2275\" title=\"inequality-who'swinning_3\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/inequality-whoswinning_3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"631\" height=\"614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/inequality-whoswinning_3.png 631w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/inequality-whoswinning_3-300x291.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>French Boss Sarkozy Hugs Ghadaffi:<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/sarkozy-ghadaffi.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2250\" title=\"sarkozy ghadaffi\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/sarkozy-ghadaffi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"468\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/sarkozy-ghadaffi.jpg 468w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/sarkozy-ghadaffi-263x300.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nPresident Nicolas Sarkozy defended Muammar Gaddafi&#8217;s visit to France on Wednesday, saying the Libyan leader was not considered a dictator in the Arab world.<\/p>\n<p>Gaddafi&#8217;s first visit to France in 34 years has been accompanied by the signing of several business deals, and human rights groups and the opposition Socialists have accused Sarkozy of putting commercial interests before human <a href=\"\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BEYONCE NEW YEAR 09\/10 PAID BY GADDAFI\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nKDG2Ppb8Bk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Spy Versus Spy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Holy Cow! Raymond Davis is a CIA Spook! Why did the NYTimes Choose to Keep this Obvious Fact a Secret? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"raymond davis us diplomat killed two pakistani \/ dr. afiya \/ Ajmal Kasab (whats going on)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IsUXXff_vFA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The American arrested in Pakistan after shooting two men at a crowded traffic stop was part of a covert, C.I.A.-led team collecting intelligence and conducting surveillance on militant groups deep inside the country, according to American government officials. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/22\/world\/asia\/22pakistan.html?hp\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/22\/world\/asia\/22pakistan.html?hp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The Worst Person in the History of the World:<\/strong><\/span><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sandy Fonzo berates Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella for killing her son via Payola\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QLqjZq9uh5E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sandy Fonzo has a right to Settle the Score with the POS Judge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Spy Versus Spy Part Two: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>US Military Uses Illegal psy-ops Vs Idiot US Senators: <\/strong>The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in &#8220;psychological operations&#8221; to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned \u2013 and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators. ..<\/p>\n<p>The orders came from the command of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, a three-star general in charge of training Afghan troops \u2013 the linchpin of U.S. strategy in the war. Over a four-month period last year, a military cell devoted to what is known as &#8220;information operations&#8221; at Camp Eggers in Kabul was repeatedly pressured to target visiting senators and other VIPs who met with Caldwell. When the unit resisted the order, arguing that it violated U.S. laws prohibiting the use of propaganda against American citizens, it was subjected to a campaign of retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My job in psy-ops is to play with people\u2019s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave,&#8221; says Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, the leader of the IO unit, who received an official reprimand after bucking orders. &#8220;I\u2019m prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you\u2019re crossing a line.&#8221;..<\/p>\n<p>The incident offers an indication of just how desperate the U.S. command in Afghanistan is to spin American civilian leaders into supporting an increasingly unpopular war. According to the Defense Department\u2019s own definition, psy-ops \u2013 the use of propaganda and psychological tactics to influence emotions and behaviors \u2013 are supposed to be used exclusively on &#8220;hostile foreign groups.&#8221; Federal law forbids the military from practicing psy-ops on Americans, and each defense authorization bill comes with a &#8220;propaganda rider&#8221; that also prohibits such manipulation. &#8220;Everyone in the psy-ops, intel, and IO community knows you\u2019re not supposed to target Americans,&#8221; says a veteran member of another psy-ops team who has run operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. &#8220;It\u2019s what you learn on day one.&#8221; \u00a0http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/news\/another-runaway-general-army-deploys-psy-ops-on-u-s-senators-20110223?page=1<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Best Thing in History of the World:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2 handed bowler and Awesome Bowl recap in Nashville, TN.\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_GrRGXhbF-c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Say Fightback: Well Grubbed Old Mole! All out March Second! Rescue Education from the Ruling Classes! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oQ9HJqKVgDA\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oQ9HJqKVgDA<\/a> Eric Foner: Return of the Class Struggle: Walker has threatened to send in the National Guard to clear the capitol of protesters, a throwback to the days when troops were regularly employed to crush strikes. It will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2219"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2294,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}