Subject: ON THE NATURE OF THE BEAST: FROM THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCED  STUDY OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, GRENOBLE, FRANCE.


22 May 2006
Grenoble, France

Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,

We have all heard the ancient Indian parable of the " Blind Men and the Elephant", which begins : A number of disciples went to the Buddha and said, "Sir, there are living here in Savatthi many wandering hermits and scholars who indulge in constant dispute, some saying that the world is infinite and eternal and others that it is finite and not eternal, some saying that the soul dies with the body and others that it lives on forever, and so forth. What, Sir, would you say concerning them?"

The Buddha answered, "Once upon a time there was a certain raja who called to his servant and said, 'Come, good fellow, go and gather together in one place all the men of Savatthi who were born blind... and show them an elephant.'


In our contemporary era, witnessing the demise of the First Republic of the United States of America, what better way to tell the story of fragmentation and powerlessness in a weakened democracy than in the words of this ancient parable.

Of particular interest for understanding capitalism are the wars of the 20th century. Examined from different perspectives, their unique causes take on very different features, but, when looked at as a whole and placed in a larger context, these causes can be recognized as various aspects of the same extended warfare that capital wages against most of us all the time in its quest for new opportunities for greater private profits. [Please visit William Blum's May 21st Newsletter: The Anti-Empire Report, from BBlum6@aol.com.]
 


Bertell Ollman, in his recent book, Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx's Method, invites readers to locate the many levels of abstraction which Marxist methodology employs. Ollman argues that there is, indeed, a multiplicity of mutually inclusive truths (both/and rather than either/or rules of reasoning)  --like the man who is also a father, who is also a brother, who is also a youngest son, who is also a cancer patient, a baseball enthusiast, a husband, a student, a Christian, an American, and an unemployed worker, etc., etc..--  all of which correspond to reality and have their inner-related influences on one another and the whole. Those elements which we choose to abstract from this unified reality are determined by our priorities, which in turn originate sometimes from our own authentic self-interests, but also often from the interests of others, who do not have our well-being in mind.

According to Ollman, social class consciousness derives from this recognition of collective self-interests, and the ability to construct a strategy which would include protection against those forces of ill-will that would dominate, exploit, or destroy some of us. When such forces are clearly recognized, and the nature of the conflicting social class interests well defined, then strategies and tactics evolve simply through matter-of-fact conversations in a context of mutual respect, without the need for command and compliance styles of communication.

Below, we have recent mail which demonstrates that our many friends of humanity are still fully engaged in "doing the right thing."

Item A. is a communication sent to us by Congresswoman Barbara Lee who was recently arrested by police in Sudan along with six other Afro-American lawmakers protesting the mass murders now taking place in the Darfur region of that country, despite the much publicized peace agreements.

Item B. is a letter from Congresswoman Betty McCollum (Dem. Minnesota 4th District) to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) whom she has accused of vicious slander and has banned from visiting her office.

Item C. is a letter to President Bush by HBO comedian & news commentator Bill Maher, forwarded to us by Professor John Gerassi.

Item D. is a podcast interview with veteran progressive activist Sam Smith, author of Why Bother?: Getting a Life in a Locked-Down Land , sent to us by George Kenney.

Item E. is Shelly R. Fredman's interview with Howard Zinn published in Tikkun [ http://www.tikkun.org/magazine/tik0605/tik0605/fredman] and forwarded to us by Dr. Michael True.

Item F. is an exchange between Francis Feeley and San Diego community organizer Monty Kroopkin on "decadence" and "dialectics".

Item G. is a link to more Abu Ghraib Prison photos posted by Dar Jamail.

And finally, item H., is a petition sent to us by Jon Beeken, protesting the PASCUA LAMA PROJECT, where the U.S. transnational corporation, Barrick Gold (with George Bush père's name on the stockholder's list),  threatens to destroy the Valle de San Felix and the source of the purest water in Chile.


Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies/
Director of Research
Université Stendhal - Grenoble 3
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/


_________________________
A.
From: "Barbara Lee" <chloe@leeforcongress.org>
To: francis.feeley@u-grenoble3.fr
Subject: Congresswoman Barbara Lee and CBC Members Arrested in Darfur Protest at Sudanese Embassy.
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006


 
Congresswoman Barbara Lee and CBC Members Arrested in Darfur Protest at Sudanese Embassy
 


Dear Friend and Supporter,
7 HOUSE MEMBERS ARRESTED AT SUDAN EMBASSY By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Tuesday, May 16, 2006 WASHINGTON (AP) - Seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus were arrested at the Embassy of Sudan on Tuesday while protesting conditions in the nation's Darfur region. "We will not tolerate genocide," said Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., the caucus chairman. "We are saying to Sudan this has got to stop." The seven were taken away in Secret Service cars after blocking the entrance to an embassy. They were released a short time later after paying $50 fines. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., wore a green T-shirt that read, "End the Darfur Genocide." Lee said she visited the Darfur region, where "I saw the desperation in the eyes of the people." The Sudanese government and main Darfur rebel group signed an agreement on May 5 to end Darfur's three-year civil war, which has killed at least 180,000 and displaced some 2 million people. But there have been several attacks since the signing, U.N. officials said. Khidir Haroun Ahmed, Sudan's ambassador to the United States, called the protest "unfortunate." "We think the effort should be exerted toward persuading the other two rebel movements to sign the peace agreement," he said. A splinter faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement have resisted pressure to join the agreement. Tuesday's protesters said they want an end to the violence; accountability for those responsible; U.N. peacekeepers; distribution of food to help prevent starvation; and full implementation of the peace agreement. "Enough is enough," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "We must do all we can to stop the violence." The other lawmakers arrested Tuesday were Reps. Al Green, D-Texas, Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat. The lawmakers held the rally on the steps of the embassy with the intention of getting arrested. The Secret Service was given advance notice, and let the lawmakers take questions for several minutes before arresting them. Last month, five other House members were arrested after a similar protest at the embassy. Darfur has been torn by violence since rebel groups made up of ethnic Africans rose up against the Arab-led Khartoum government in 2003. The government is accused of responding by unleashing Arab militias known as the Janjaweed who have been accused of some of the war's worst atrocities. Khartoum denies backing the Janjaweed but has said it will try to rein them in since the deal was signed.

____________
Barbara Lee for Congress 1736 Franklin Street Suite 500 Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-663-1207 Fax: 510-663-1573 Web site: http://www.leeforcongress.org E-mail: chloe@leeforcongress.org
 
_______________
_______________
B.
from
From: Council for the National Interest Foundation <inform@cnionline.org>
To: Francis.Feeley@u-grenoble3.fr
Subject: TAKE ACTION: Rep. McCollum (MN-4) Dares to Speak Out Against AIPAC

 

  TAKE ACTION:  Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-4th district) has banned the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) from her office until she receives a formal, written apology from AIPAC for equating her vote in the House International Relations Committee against HR 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, with "support for terrorists."

The following "Letter to AIPAC" from Rep. McCollum will be published in the June 8th edition of the New York Review of Books with a long piece by Michael Massing ("The Storm over the Israel Lobby"). Massing includes the letter as evidence to support his thesis that the tactics of the Israel lobby are harsh, and often extremely effective, in pursuing its objectives: "to keep Israel strong, the Palestinians weak, and the United States from exerting pressure on Israel." Both items are essential reading.

Please take a moment to thank Rep. McCollum for her stance against HR 4681 and for her courage to stand up to AIPAC's attempts to smear her and stifle debate. You can call her office directly at 202-225-6631 or call the Capitol switchboard toll-free at 1-888-355-3588 and ask to be transferred to her office.

If no one is able to take your call, please leave a brief message of thanks along with your name and address so that Rep. McCollum can get in touch with you.  Please call today!

New York Review of Books

• Volume 53, Number 10 June 8, 2006

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19063

By Betty McCollum

The letter below was sent by Representative Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, to the executive director of AIPAC. The bill mentioned, H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, would place so many restraints on aid to the Palestinian people, and so many restrictions on the administration's ability to deal with the Palestinians, that even the State Department has opposed it. AIPAC has strongly backed it. The Senate version of the bill, S. 2237, would allow the administration far more flexibility. On April 6, the House International Relations Committee passed H.R. 4681 by a vote of 36 to 2; McCollum was one of the two nays. As of May 11, AIPAC has yet to respond to her demand for an apology.

Mr. Howard Kohr
Executive Director
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
440 First Street, NW; Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. Kohr:

During my nineteen years serving in elected office, including the past five years as a Member of Congress, never has my name and reputation been maligned or smeared as it was last week by a representative of AIPAC. Last Friday, during a call with my chief of staff, an AIPAC representative from Minnesota who has frequently lobbied me on behalf of your organization stated, "on behalf of herself, the Jewish community, AIPAC, and the voters of the Fourth District, Congresswoman McCollum's support for terrorists will not be tolerated." Ironically, this individual, who does not even live in my congressional district, feels free to speak for my constituents.

This response may have been the result of extreme emotion or irrational passion, but regardless, it is a hateful attack that is vile and offensive to me and the families I represent. I call on AIPAC to immediately condemn this un-American attack and disavow any attempt to use this type of threat and intimidation to stifle legitimate policy differences. I will not stand to be labeled or threatened in a manner that questions my patriotism or my oath of office.

Last week, I did vote against H.R. 4681 during mark-up of the bill in the House International Relations Committee. As a Member of Congress sworn to uphold the Constitution, and ensure the security of the US and represent the values and beliefs of the constituents who I serve, it was my view that H.R. 4681 goes beyond the State Department's current policies toward Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and potentially undermines the US position vis-à-vis the coordinated international pressure on Hamas. The language contained in S. 2237 accurately reflects my position.

Keeping diplomatic pressure on Hamas to renounce terrorism, recognize the State of Israel, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, and honor past agreements and treaty obligations, while preventing a humanitarian crisis among the Palestinian people, are all policy goals already strongly supported by myself, the Bush administration, Congress and the American people. But, if the purpose of H.R. 4681 was to send another strong message to Hamas and the Palestinian people, as Congress already has sent with the passage of S. Con. Res. 79, then I disagree with the vehicle for that message. In my opinion, Congress should be articulating clear support for the Secretary of State's present course of action; not creating a new law which likely diminishes the diplomatic tools needed to advance US policy goals with regard to the Palestinian people, potentially cuts US funding to the United Nations, and largely restates current law while creating on-going and burdensome unfunded reporting requirements.

As you well know, in Congress we do not shy away from condemning the vile words of despots and dictators who use anti-Semitism as a weapon to incite hatred, fear and violence. AIPAC should not have a lower standard for persons affiliated and representing its organization when they label a Member of Congress who thinks for herself and always puts the interest of our nation and people first a supporter of terrorists.

You and your colleagues at AIPAC have the right to disagree with my position on any piece of legislation, but for an AIPAC representative to say that I would ever vote to support Middle East terrorists over the interests of my country will never be tolerated by me or the families I serve. This incident rises to a level in which a formal, written apology is required.

Mr. Kohr, I am a supporter of a strong US-Israeli relationship and my voting record speaks for itself. This will not change. But until I receive a formal, written apology from your organization I must inform you that AIPAC representatives are not welcome in my offices or for meetings with my staff.

Betty McCollum
Member of Congress
4th District, Minnesota
Washington, D.C.

---

Council for the National Interest Foundation
1250 4th Street SW, Suite WG-1
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
http://www.cnionline.org/
http://www.rescuemideastpolicy.com/
Phone: 202-863-2951
Fax: 202-863-2952


_________________
C.
from John Gerassi :
20 May 2006
Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you anymore. There's no more money to spend. You used up all of that. You can't start another war because you also used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people.

Yeah, listen to your mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit card's maxed out, and no one is speaking to you: mission accomplished! Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service. And the oil company. And the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or spaceman?!

Now, I know what you're saying. You're saying that there's so many other things that you, as president, could involve yourself in...Please don't. I know, I know, there's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela, and eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote. But, sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man.

Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire metropolis to rising water and snakes.

On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two Trade Centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans...Maybe you're just not lucky!

I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side. So, yes, God does speak to you, and what he's saying is, "Take a hint."

Bill Maher
http://www.safesearching.com/billmaher/home.shtml


_________________
D.
from George Kenney <george@electricpolitics.com> :
Subject: Podcast interview with Sam Smith
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006
http://www.electricpolitics.com/media/mp3/EP2006.05.19.mp3

Francis,
I thought I'd alert you to a podcast interview I posted this morning, with the veteran progressive writer and activist Sam Smith. It should be of great interest to people who work at grass-roots organizing.
Best,
George


_______________
E.
from Michael True :
18 May 2006
Tikkun

Dear Francis,
      Just a note on your increasing fame in the U.S., as Peacework reprints my "Letter from France," with other portions to be picked up later by the Catholic Worker in NYC.   But, also, unless I can correct my careless spelling, you will be famous as "Frances Feeney," rather than Francis Feeley.  Sorry.
       I heard from Michele, and go to Northfield Mt. Herman Prep this evening, to do a "show" of slides, "The Amerian Tradition of Nonviolence," with Charlie King and Karen Baucher singing appropriate folks songs along the way.   I'll let you know of our Broadway opening--it's only a matter of time.
      Howard had one of his best interviews ever in the latest issue of Tikkun--you can also read it on the web. 
Best always,
Mike

"People think there must be some magical tactic, beyond the traditional ones - protests, demonstrations, vigils, civil disobedience - but there is no magical panacea, only persistence."

    When I arrived at Boston University in 1978, it was like showing up at a party after all the guests had gone home. The Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War protests were over, and everyone around me was studying business and honing their resumes. The Sixties had died. All the activists were gone.

    Except for Howard Zinn. You could sign up for Zinn's classes, "Marxism" and "Anarchism," and there, every Tuesday and Thursday, you could hear the stories no one else would tell you: Columbus's arrival on these shores from the Arawak Indian's point of view, Emma Goldman's message to the unemployed in Union Square, black students in Greensboro, NC, who one day sat down at the Woolworth's counter where only whites could eat.

    Now, some twenty years later, in the wake of Katrina, mired in Bush's reckless reign and the ever-escalating death toll in Iraq, it seemed a good time to revisit Zinn.

    Best known for A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn has been a professor, radical historian, social activist, and intellectual leader of the Left for forty years. In over twenty books, he has devoted himself to connecting America's past with its present, providing a frame for left-wing activism and politics. Praised by academics and lay readers alike, Zinn feels more at home on the streets than in the ivory tower.

    Zinn's message of hope is unflinching, and he is busier than ever. He has written a play, "Marx in Soho," is producing a People's History of the United States television series, and his new book, Original Zinn, will be released in July.

    He seems to have stashed De Leon's fountain of youth in his back pocket. Though we are seated at a small table drinking coffee, occasionally he still moves his large hands through the air, as he did in class, underscoring the urgency of his words. And at the end of his most radical sentences, a wry smile lights up his eyes, as if he's imagining the glorious trouble we the people can, and will, make.

    Shelly R. Fredman: I'd like to start by asking you about Michael Lerner's new book, The Left Hand of God. In it, Lerner says that, post 9/11, a paradigm of fear has gripped our culture and been used to manipulate the public into supporting politicians who are more militaristic. How would you characterize the post-9/11 world?

    Howard Zinn: Michael Lerner is certainly right about how fear has been used since 9/11 to push the public into support of war. "Terrorism" is used the way "communism" was used all through the Cold War, the result being the deaths of millions and a nuclear arms race which wasted trillions of dollars that could have been used to create a truly good society for all.

    SF: Lerner also claims that the parts of our cultural heritage that embody elements of hope are dismissed as naïve, with little to teach us. You must have had your own bouts with critics who see your vision as naïve. How do you address them?

    HZ: It's true that any talk of hope is dismissed as naïve, but that's because we tend to look at the surface of things at any given time. And the surface almost always looks grim. The charge of naïvete also comes from a loss of historical perspective. History shows that what is considered naïve in one decade becomes reality in another.

    How much hope was there for black people in the South in the fifties? At the start of the Vietnam War, anyone who thought the monster war machine could be stopped seemed naïve. When I was in South Africa in 1982, and apartheid was fully entrenched, it seemed naïve to think that it would be dissolved and even more naïve to think that Mandela would become president. But in all those cases, anyone looking under the surface would have seen currents of potential change bubbling and growing.

    SF: Has the Left responded adequately to the kind of fascism we see coming from Bush's people? Street protests seem to be ineffective; it's sometimes disheartening.

    HZ: The responses are never adequate, until they build and build and something changes. People very often think that there must be some magical tactic, beyond the traditional ones - protests, demonstrations, vigils, civil disobedience - but there is no magical panacea, only persistence in continuing and escalating the usual tactics of protest and resistance. The end of the Vietnam War did not come because the Left suddenly did something new and dramatic, but because all of the actions built up over time.

    If you listen to the media, you get no sense of what's happening. I speak to groups of people in different parts of the country. I was in Austin, Texas recently and a thousand people showed up. I believe people are basically decent, they just lack information.

    SF: You have been outspoken against the war in Iraq. Despite all the chaos we've heard may ensue, do you still believe we should get out of Iraq now?

    HZ: Yes, we should immediately withdraw. There will be chaos ... it is actually there already, and much of the chaos and violence has come about because of our involvement. But that doesn't change the fact that our occupation of Iraq is wrong.

    What's more troubling [than a military mistake] is that this is an administration that is impervious to pressure. If you listen to LBJ's tapes, where he discusses the escalation of the war in Vietnam, you can hear that he is torn....

    Still, the good news is that more and more of us are becoming aware of Bush's true nature. Less than fifty percent of Americans are for the war, and forty percent are calling for [Bush's] impeachment.

    SF: Where do you see the Democrats in all this? What of their role, their responsibility?

    HZ: The Democratic Party is pitiful. Not only are they not articulating a spiritual message, as Lerner says, they don't even have a political message. The Democrats are tied to corporate wealth. And they are incompetent when it comes to understanding how to win elections. By the time Kerry ran, the public had actually shifted. Fifty percent were against the war. The Democrats should have been saying they would end the war, and make those dollars available for healthcare.

    SF: What about the upcoming crop of presidential candidates - Hillary Clinton, for instance?

    HZ: Hillary Clinton is so opportunistic. She goes where the wind is blowing. She doesn't say what needs to be said. And Barack Obama is cautious. He's better than Clinton, but I'd suggest Marian Wright Edelman as the Democratic candidate for president. She's the epitome of what we need. A very smart black woman who deals with children, poverty.... She's in the trenches, and she ties it in with militarization. But she doesn't come out of government.

    That's another problem - the Democratic Party is a closed circle. It may take a threatening third party to shake things up.

    SF: Many people believe that history is a pendulum, and that we are overdue for a swing to the Left. Lerner, for instance, views American history as an oscillation between the voices of hope and the voices of fear - the fear after the stock market crash in 1929, the hope of the New Deal, the fears of McCarthyism, the hope of the Civil Rights movement and social change movements in the sixties. Is this a compelling view of history?

    HZ: Without making it chronological, like a roller coaster, with predictable ups and downs, it's certainly true that in any period there are voices that demand maintenance of the status quo, and other voices demanding change. In other words, it isn't so much a period of hope, then a period of fear, etc. But in every period there are both tendencies, with one or another dominant and the dominant characteristic often leads to a simplified picture of an era.

    My differences with Lerner, though, reside in the proportion of attention he pays to spiritual values. These are important, but they're not the critical issue. The issue is how are people living and dying. People are dying in Iraq and our wealth is being squandered on war and the military budget.

    SF: Don't you believe the Left needs to address spiritual needs to win? How else can we galvanize the heartland, people taken in by the religious rhetoric of Bush?

    HZ: Yes, there are special needs and they need to be addressed. But after the last election there was a kind of hysteria among liberal pundits about a "failure" to deal with the moral issues. There is a hard core for whom religion is key. They are maybe twenty-five percent of the population. It's a mistake to try to appeal to that hard core.

    I define the spiritual in emotional terms - to the extent that religion can draw on the Ten Commandments (for example, thou shalt not kill), it is important. And I find the spiritual in the arts, because they nourish the spirit and move people. Artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, for example, and now Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. We need more of these.

    It's not that people are turned off by the Left. The Left hasn't reached out to people with a clear, coherent, and emotional message. The Left often does not know how to talk to other people. Tikkun magazine appeals to intellectuals. I've never spoken the language of ivory tower academics. And there are other voices on the Left that speak in understandable language. For instance, Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, in which she took menial jobs across the country and wrote about those lives, was a bestseller. There's an emotionalism to her message that makes contact and touches thousands. Michael Moore's movies have been seen by all sorts of people. GI's in Iraq watched his movie. We just have to do more along those lines.

    SF: Many on the Left seem to identify religion with the fundamentalist versions of it we see in the worst moments of human history. Do you see any value in religious ideas and traditions? If I can get personal: do you identify at all as a Jew, with the Jewish story? Is there anything in it that's meaningful to you? Are there any thoughts of the world beyond this one - where, for example, you can sit with Marx in Soho and eat Deli Haus blintzes together?

    HZ: If I was promised that we could sit with Marx in some great Deli Haus in the hereafter, I might believe in it! Sure, I find inspiration in Jewish stories of hope, also in the Christian pacifism of the Berrigans, also in Taoism and Buddhism. I identify as a Jew, but not on religious grounds. Yes, I believe, as Pascal said, "The heart has its reasons which reason cannot know." There are limits to reason. There is mystery, there is passion, there is something spiritual in the arts - but it is not connected to Judaism or any other religion.

    For those who find a special inspiration in Judaism or Christianity or Buddhism or whatever, fine. If that inspiration leads them to work for justice, that is what matters.

    _______________

    Shelly R. Fredman's work has appeared in Best Jewish Writing, First Harvest, the Chicago Tribune Magazine, and the Forward.

_________________
F.
From Monty Kroopkin :
22 May 2006

Hi Francis,

I think it is important to distinguish the concept of "decadence" from sundry excesses it generally condemns. The orthodoxies and oppositions to change and the theoretical (and actual) attempts to describe thoughts, actions, behaviors as below standards and to enforce/reinforce standards is what I mean regarding "reactionary" and "authoritarian". And the failure to comprehend the seeds of the new within the decline of the old is what I mean by "one-dimensional" and "a-historical" and "anti-dialectical".

I object to describing depravity or deviance or dissidence as "decadence".

Yours in solidarity from my NSA party line,
Monty

Please note: message attached : Bigger story than NSA datamining

--------- Forwarded Message ----------

I think you will find this interesting:
http://freepress.org/departments/display/20/2006/1968

Monty

_______________________
Date: Sat, 20 May 2006
To: "mkroopkin@juno.com" <mkroopkin@juno.com>
From: Francis FEELEY <francis.feeley@u-grenoble3.fr>
Subject: ON THE BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE:

Hello Monty,
And thanks for your opinions on "decadence". I don't really understand your references to "authoritarian", "reactionary", and "one-dimensional". But "ahistorial" sounds right. I'm not sure about "anti-dialectical" either. You probably have someone in mind with all these adjectives. Maybe it's Dick Cheney or Adolph Hitler. But they represent more than just "decadence" in my mind. Writers like Tom Wolf are "decadent", without being "authoritarian," or even "reactionary," don't your agree.

Anyway, more importantly keep up your good work at community organizing in San Diego. The word is watching....

cheers,
Francis

At 21:12 20/05/2006, you wrote:

Dear Francis,

I disagree with the Nietzsche quote in the introductory note here. "Decadence" is an authoritarian, reactionary, and one-dimensional, a-historical, anti-dialectical concept. (All decay is transitional and formational.) Also, "the whole" (including its history) is always the context, regardless of whether it is explicit or implicit. Therefore, the Nietzsche statement is both literal and literary nonsense. I am no Nietzsche scholar, so, to be fair, I can say I hope the quotation itself suffers merely from being out of context.
Monty Kroopkin
San Diego

________________
G.
from Dar Jamail :
21 May 2006


We have posted a new collection of Abu Ghraib images from a variety of sources.

Afterdowningstreet.org < http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/> supplied the images.

We have decided to post these in our continuing effort to show the true face of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

_______________________________________________
(c)2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail.
All images, photos, photography and text are protected by United States and international copyright law. If you would like to reprint Dahr's Dispatches on the web, you need to include this copyright notice and a prominent link to the http://DahrJamailIraq.com website. Website by photographer Jeff Pflueger's Photography Media http://jeffpflueger.com . Any other use of images, photography, photos and text including, but not limited to, reproduction, use on another website, copying and printing requires the permission of Dahr Jamail. Of course, feel free to forward Dahr's dispatches via email.

More writing, commentary, photography, pictures and images at http://dahrjamailiraq.com


___________
H.
From: Beekjen@aol.com
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 
Subject: c'est notre devoir

Dear friends who care about our earth. Judge for
yourself if you want to take action.
In the Valle de San Felix, the purest water in Chile
runs from 2 rivers, fed by 2 glaciers.

Water is a most precious resource, and wars will be
fought for it.

Indigenous farmers use the water, there is no
unemployment, and they provide the second largest
source of income for the area.

Under the glaciers has been found a huge deposit of
gold, silver and other minerals. To get at these, it
would be necessary to break, to destroy the glaciers -
something never conceived of in the history of the
world - and to make 2 huge holes, each as big as a
whole mountain, one for extraction and one for the
mine's rubbish tip.


The project is called PASCUA LAMA. The company is
called Barrick Gold.

The operation is planned by a multi-national company,
one of whose members is George Bush Senior.

The Chilean Government has approved the project to
start this year, 2006.

The only reason it hasn't started yet is because the
farmers have got a temporary stay of execution.

If they destroy the glaciers, they will not just
destroy the source of specially pure water, but they
will permanently contaminate the 2 rivers so they will
never again be fit for human or animal consumption
because of the use of cyanide and sulphuric acid in
the extraction process.

Every last gramme of gold will go abroad to the
multinational company and not one will be left with
the people whose land it is. They will only be left
with the poisoned water and the resulting illnesses.


The farmers have been fighting a long time for their
land, but have been forbidden to make a TV appeal by a
ban from the Ministry of the Interior.

Their only hope now of putting brakes on this project
is to get help from international justice.

The world must know what is happening in Chile. The
only place to start changing the world is from here.

We ask you to circulate this message amongst your
friends in the following way. Please copy this text,
paste it into a new email adding your signature and
send it to everyone in your address book. Please will
the 100th person to receive and sign the petition send
it to noapascualama@yahoo.ca to be forwarded to the
Chilean government.



No to Pascua Lama Open-cast mine in the Andean
Cordillera on the Chilean-Argentine frontier.

We ask the Chilean Government not to authorize the
Pascua Lama project to protect the whole of 3
glaciers, the purity of the water of the San Felix
Valley and El Transito, the quality of the
agricultural land of the region of Atacama, the
quality of life of the Diaguita people and of the
whole population of the region.


Signature,   City,   Country :
1) Katharine Proudfoot, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

2) Laura Cole, London, UK

3) David Platt, London, UK

4) Diane Platt, Manchester, UK

5) Tanya Corker, Manchester, UK

6) Nicola Hargreaves, UK

7) Nicholas Jones, UK

8)Johann Don-Daniel, Germany

9)Ashley Berger, Germany

10) Sarah Downie, Leeds, UK

11) Paula Delahunty, Bingley, UK

12) John O'Driscoll, Bingley, Uk

13) Jordan-Lee Delahunty, Bingley, UK

14) Claire Mulvey, Bradford, UK

15) Marie Malcolm Bradford, UK

16) Ann Clowes, Halifax UK

17) Jayne McGee, Brighouse UK

18) Jason Barratt Oldham UK

19; Lindsay Torrance, Rochdale UK

20 ) Maggie Ford, Rochdale, U.K.

21) Barry Cook, Todmorden, U.K.

22) Shelley BUrgoyne, Todmorden, U.K.

23) Lisa Stuart, Potes, Spain.

24) Michael Stuart, Potes, Spain.

25)  Mary Walker, Wakefield, UK

26) Sally Walker, Tarifa, Spain

27) Sylvie Mabille de Poncheville, Birmingham, UK.

28) Emilie Millinship, Bergerac, France.

29. Frederic Douelle, Edinburgh, Scotland.

30. Leticia Castañeda, Madrid, Spain

31) Bouet Elsa, Edinburgh, Uk

32) MOhab Altaher, Edinburgh, Uk

33) JORDAN Jennifer, Annemasse, Fr



 
*********************
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies/
Director of Research
Université de Grenoble-3
Grenoble, France
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/