by Manali Chakrabarti [Reproduced with permission from Aspects of India’s Economy, March 2014.-Eds] Pressures resulting from unrestrained population growth put demands on the natural world that can overwhelm any efforts to achieve a sustainable future. If we are to halt the destruction of our environment, we must accept limits to that growth. —World Scientists’ Warning […]
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Low-income families protest MN State of the State
St Paul, MN – On April 30, members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) gathered outside the House Chambers of the Minnesota state capitol to protest Governor Mark Dayton’s State of the State address. “It’s been 28 years without a grant increase and Governor Dayton refuses to help children and their families,” said the WRC’s Darnella Wade.
For the State of the State address, the whole legislature, Supreme Court, Secretary of State, Attorney General and former U.S. Vice-president Mondale attend. They all had to pass by the Welfare Rights Committee members holding signs of Governor Dayton’s face that read, “Shame on Dayton for ignoring 70,000 kids in extreme poverty.” They chanted, “70,000 kids! 70,000 kids!” and “The rich got bailed out, we got sold out!”
WRC members also displayed 28 tombstones to represent 28 years without a grant increase for MFIP (the state of Minnesota’s welfare program for poor children and their parents). The tombstones had slogans such as, “R.I.P. 28 years without an increase,” and “Rest in poverty.”
According to the Welfare Rights Committee’s statement: “Over the past decade, hundreds of millions of federal dollars targeted for Minnesota’s welfare have been raided by Minnesota politicians to supplant state spending and pay down the state’s deficits. Because of this theft, only 27% of the federal TANF dollars actually go to the Minnesota families receiving welfare. Meanwhile, MN welfare grants have not seen an increase for 28 years, while the cost of living has more than doubled.
“This year the state had a surplus. The governor and legislators had a chance to raise the welfare grants to help get 70,000 kids out of extreme poverty, but they refused. Instead they gave tax breaks, mostly to corporations and the well-to-do.”
The last to make a ceremonial entrance was Governor Dayton. WRC had a member stationed at the elevator, so he had to walk through the capitol and into the house chamber to the chants of “Dayton, Dayton! Shame on you!”
As the governor started his address, he got loud “boos” from WRC members. Their statement notes, “The governor tried to give a rosy picture of the state, but WRC was there to show that the ‘real state of the state’ is horrible for the poor and working families.”
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MayDay ! Russia is the Enemy NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow now says that the allied group has been compelled to treat Russia “as more of an enemy than a partner,” according to an Associated Press report published Thursday.
See also :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vershbow
Below you will find articles of who we think are our enemies.
See Also :
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk
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Why Aren’t North American Workers More Militant?
On the occasion of May 1st, union activists Bill Fletcher Jr. and Sam Ginden discuss the the weakening of the workers movement and what needs to happen next
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जो कैमरे नहीं दिखा सकते…
अभिषेक श्रीवास्तव
मैं बनारस में क्यों हूं, मुझे नहीं पता। मैं नहीं होता तो भी यह चुनाव ऐसे ही चलता, ऐसा ही दिखता जैसा दिख रहा है। मैंने कोशिश की कि इस सब झंझट से खुद को दूर रखूं, लेकिन ऐसा नहीं हो सका। दरअसल, एक धोखा, एक परदा होने के बावजूद चुनाव का मौसम होता तो अच्छा ही है चूंकि कई परदे अनायास गिर जाते हैं। कई गिरा दिए जाते हैं। पीछे का मंज़र सामने आता है और जनता का मनेारंजन होता है। मैंने सोचा कि क्यों न अपना भी मनोरंजन कर लिया जाए, लेकिन महती जि़म्मेदारी के सतत भार से इस बार भी खुद को बचा न सका।
बावजूद इसके कि तमाम कैमरे लंका से दशाश्वमेध तक बनारस में अपने-अपने ट्राइपॉड पर निश्चल और अहर्निश खड़े हैं, वे पुरज़ोर कोशिश कर के भी बरसों से निश्चल खड़े इस शहर की तासीर को पकड़ नहीं पाए हैं। ज़ाहिर है, वे ऐसा करने आए भी नहीं थे। उन्हें जो करना है, वे कर रहे हैं। हमें न ये करना था, न हम करेंगे।
हम ज्यादा से ज्यादा ये कर सकते हैं कि जो रिपोर्ट नहीं किया जा रहा, जो कैमरों के अत्याधुनिक लेन्स की सीमा से बाहर की बात है, उसे दिखा सकें। इसके लिए सिर्फ कान खुले रखने हैं और नज़रें चौकस। बिल्कुल घाट पर बैठे उस श्वान की तरह जो दरअसल दिखता तो साधनारत है, लेकिन जिसकी इंद्रियां लगातार अपने परिवेश के प्रति ग्रहणशील बनी रहती हैं। ‘ग्रेपवाइन’ का अर्थ भी यही है- देखा और सुना, जिसमें स्रोत की विश्वसनीयता का मसला नहीं है।
आगामी 5 मई से 11 मई तक यानी हफ्ता भर जनपथ पर आप कुछ आंखों देखे मंज़र और कानों सुने किस्से पढ़ कर अपना मनोरंजन और ज्ञानवर्धन कर सकते हैं। नहीं पढ़ेंगे तो कोई नुकसान नहीं होगा, इसकी गारंटी है।
डिसक्लेमर यह है कि पात्रों के नाम असली होंगे, किस्से भी असली होंगे और लोकेशन भी। यह कवायद किसी की भावना को चोट पहुंचाने के लिए नहीं है। न इसमें राजनीति है, न अर्थनीति।
यह विशुद्ध मनोरंजन है, बिल्कुल इस बार के चुनावों की तरह।
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Turkey: A massive police operation has cracked down on May Day protests in the Turkish city of Istanbul
A massive police operation has cracked down on May Day protests in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Riot officers have blocked off the city’s iconic Taksim Square and have deployed tear gas and water cannon against crowds of demonstrators.
Defying a ban on May Day protests, hundreds of protesters clashed with police in the Besiktas neighborhood of Istanbul. Some activists threw Molotov
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India: Communist Party of India ML (Naxalbari) merge with Communist Party of India Maoist on May 1st 2014
May 1, 2014
Merger Declaration of CPI(Maoist) and CPI(M-L)Naxalbari
Hail the Merger of the Maoist Parties in India into a Single Party!(Released to the press by comrades Abhay and Krantipriya, spokespersons of
the respective parties)On this occasion of the International day of the world proletariat, the
glorious May Day, we the Maoists of India, with a great sense of
responsibility and -
Kerala – Statement against police’s attempt to criminalise activists under the garb of “fighting terror”
COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS 185/3, FOURTH FLOOR, ZAKIR NAGAR, NEW DELHI—110025 29 APRIL, 2014 CONDEMN STRONGLY AND EXPOSE THE CRIMINAL INTENT OF THE KERALA POLICE AND THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO CRIMINALISE PEOPLE’S LEADERS, ACTIVISTS AND MASSES OF THE PEOPLE OF KERALA UNDER THE GARB OF ‘FIGHTING TERROR’ CRPP condemns strongly the insidious […]
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Florida students prevent FAMU-FSU College of Engineering split
Tallahassee, FL – Students prevented the proposed split of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering this 2014 legislative session. Student activists organized and protested at the Florida legislature to force Republican politicians to back off. FAMU is an historically Black university and African-American students view the proposed split as a racist attempt to create separate and unequal colleges.
The bad legislation went away when Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford introduced a compromise. It calls for funding a study into the viability of the joint engineering college. This then passes the buck to the Florida Board of Governors in March 2015. They have final decision on the future of the joint and historical partnership.
Florida State Senator John Thrasher, the campaign co-chair for Governor Rick Scott’s re-election campaign, originally proposed splitting the engineering college. Thrasher attempted to cover his tracks by claiming the discussion would not have taken place if he had not proposed a budget amendment to fund the split.
“Thrasher is a notorious anti-worker and anti-higher education bully, who this session, due to the FAMU and FSU students working together, didn’t get what he wanted,” said Michael Sampson, organizer with the Dream Defenders. “He can try and sum this up any way he wants but he lost this go around and those who wanted to prevent the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering from being split this year were successful.”
Thrasher is rumored to be a finalist for the FSU presidential search. Many view his proposal to split the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering as a power grab by elite FSU interests at the expense of FAMU. This is currently one of the few partnerships between a mostly white university and a historically Black university. Neither FAMU nor FSU administrative leadership were even notified of the possibility of a split of its engineering program before it happened. New FAMU President, Elora Mangum, said that FAMU by itself didn’t have the means to sustain its own engineering program at current rates of funding from the state legislature.
Florida State University is a predominantly white education institution that continues to grow, often at the expense of the neighboring African-American communities. This move by Thrasher to split away from a joint venture with the Florida A&M University was a move that angered many of Tallahassee’s African americans. Engineering students from the National Society of Black Engineers spoke out with Dream Defenders against the attempted injustice.
“I think that it was a great step,” said FSU Engineering student and former vice-president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Samuel Ichite. “It’s great to know that the logical step was taken as a result of different people stepping up and standing for what was right. It should never be left up to politicians to determine the fate of our education.”
Tallahassee Dream Defenders, working with organizations like NSBE and the FAMU Student Government Association and other FAMU student leaders, organized to prevent Thrasher’s power play from being successful. However, student activists know they have a long way to go to make sure the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is protected in the future.
“This is a short-term win but we need to keep organizing over the summer and throughout next year to prevent them from attempting to split it again,” said Melanie Andrade, president of the FAMU chapter of Dream Defenders. “We need to make sure we are researching whatever they are proposing and targeting whoever needs to be targeted in order to make sure the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering stays the way it is.”
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May Day Means Solidarity Day – Freedom for Kjell Gunnar Larsen – Son of Norwegian Working Class
See Also:
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/norway-serve-people-interviewed.html
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/norway-stop-political-repression-kjell.html
http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/norway-red-salute-to-tjen-folket-free.html