A friend passed the following New York Times article along with some commentary, including the following:

the same companies that "lost" Iraq 36 years ago are getting it back...We also see the real reason why Saddam is the devil. A former Exxon chairman says, "We were part of the consortium [the Iraq Petroleum Company], the four companies that were there when Saddam Hussein threw us out."

NY Times article link

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry. Click here to continue reading...

Today, June 19th, is celebrated by people in Texas and around the U.S. as Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Liberation Day. What is Juneteenth? Many people don't know.

From the Juneteenth website:

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future. Its growing popularity signifies a level of maturity and dignity in America long over due. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today.

Click here to keep reading the rest of the post...

This is a reprint of an essay by Mike Ely. Read regular news and analysis of the Nepali revolution at the Revolution in South Asia website.

Eyes on the Maobadi: 4 Reasons Nepal's Revolution Matters

By Mike Ely

Something remarkable is happening. A whole generation of people has never seen a radical, secular, revolutionary movement rise with popular support. And yet here it is – in Nepal today.

This movement has overthrown Nepal’s hated King Gyanendra and abolished the medieval monarchy. It has created a revolutionary army that now squares off with the old King’s army. It has built parallel political power in remote rural areas over a decade of guerrilla war – undermining feudal traditions like the caste system. It has gathered broad popular support and emerged as the leading force of an unprecedented Constituent Assembly (CA). And it has done all this under the radical banner of Maoist communism — advocating a fresh attempt at socialism and a classless society around the world.

People in Nepal call these revolutionaries the Maobadi.

Another remarkable thing is the silence surrounding all this. There has been very little reporting about the intense moments now unfolding in Nepal, or about the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) that stand at their center. Meanwhile, the nearby Tibetan uprisings against abuses by China’s government got non-stop coverage.

There are obvious reasons for this silence. The Western media isn’t thrilled when people in one of the world’s poorest countries throw their support behind one of the world’s most radical movements.

But clearly many alternative news sources don’t quite know what to make of the Nepali revolution. The Maobadi’s mix of communist goals and non-dogmatic methods disturb a lot of leftist assumptions too. When the CPN(Maoist) launched an armed uprising in 1996, some people thought these were outdated tactics. When the CPN(Maoist) suspended armed combat in 2006 and entered an anti-monarchist coalition government, some people assumed they would lose their identity to a corrupt cabal. When the Maoists press their current anti-feudal program, some people think they are forgetting about socialism.

But silent skepticism is a wrong approach. The world needs to be watching Nepal. The stunning Maoist victory in the April elections was not, yet, the decisive victory over conservative forces. The Maobadi are at the center of the political staqe but they have not yet defeated or dismantled the old government’s army. New tests of strength lie ahead.

The Maoists of Nepal aren’t just a opposition movement any more – they are tackling the very different problems of leading a society through a process of radical change. They are maneuvering hard to avoid a sudden crushing defeat at the hands of powerful armies. As a result, the Maobadi of Nepal are carrying out tactics for isolating their internal rivals, broadening their appeal, and neutralizing external enemies.

All this looks bewildering seen up close. This world has been through a long, heartless stretch without much radicalism or revolution. Most people have never seen what it looks like when a popular communist revolution reaches for power.

Let’s break the silence by listing four reasons for looking closely at Nepal. Continue reading...

Editorial by Freedom Road Socialist Organization

(reprinted from fightbacknews.org)

On Sept. 1, 2008 the Republican Party will hold its national convention at the Xcel Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They will be there to nominate John McCain for president, and justify the wars against - and occupations of - Iraq and Afghanistan. The Republicans will gather to celebrate economic policies that have brought riches to the few and foreclosures, homelessness and unemployment to the many. Republican delegates will cheer the anti-immigrant attacks as party leaders try to use racism to cement their reactionary supporters. We can also expect attacks from the podium on women’s rights to control our own bodies and attacks on gay marriage.

The main thing the Republicans will be doing in Saint Paul is building support for John McCain in his bid to continue Bush’s policies of the past eight years. John McCain has said that the U.S. occupation of Iraq could last for 100 years and that he wants to make sure the rich remain as wealthy as possible by keeping tax cuts and the cuts to healthcare and education that go with them. The Republican National Convention (RNC) will try to shore up support and U.S. national chauvinist fervor for the Iraq occupation throughout the convention. Five years of war is more than long enough. The troops need to come home now so that the Iraqi people can take control of and begin to rebuild their own country. The government needs to stop running up trillions in debt that our children and grandchildren will be paying off and that will lead to even more cuts in health care, education and other human needs in the name of a failed strategy to dominate the Middle East.

All of us know what is wrong with the politics and policies of the Republicans. Sept. 1 is the time to change knowing into doing. Bush, Cheney and the lesser-known but equally powerful will be together on location in Saint Paul. The RNC is a prime opportunity to bring our demands directly to the war-makers. Not only will the architects of the occupation be in Saint Paul, 10,000 journalists from around the world will be there as well. This is one of those rare times when the whole world really will be watching and we cannot allow the only message to be shiny happy Republicans dancing on the dead men, women and children of Iraq for their own political gain. We have a right to march against the war and the Republican agenda. The police are seeking impede that right by issuing a permit that makes it difficult for tens of thousands to march on the Xcel Center. Organizers in Minneapolis and Saint Paul need our support between now and September to win the battle for an acceptable permit.

Many people are planning many different activities that will send powerful messages to both the Republicans and the world. The permitted march on Sept. 1, organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, is a very important event. In the course of the four days of the convention many movements with many tactics will be seeking to challenge the Republican agenda. While there may be differences of emphasis, issues or tactics, organizers are striving for a sense of unity and solidarity. Saint Paul police have already formed a special unit for the purpose of dividing us from each other. We can’t allow them to succeed.

Organizers have come together around a number of important principles. These principles say in part that our solidarity will be based on respect for a diversity of tactics and the plans of other groups. That debates on tactics will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events. Another principle is opposition to state repression of dissent and a refusal to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others. Furthermore, a separation of time or space will be maintained to allow for different kinds of protests to take place. This set of principles is very good and is part of what will allow the largest and strongest demonstrations against the war and occupation.

The Republican Convention will come one week after the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The Denver convention will also see protests against the war. For too long the Democrats have been complicit in carrying out the occupation of Iraq and they should also be held accountable for empty promises to end the war.

Here is a promise that we know will be kept. On Sept. 1 a diverse coalition of activists will gather to March on the RNC. Tens of thousands will march from the State Capitol to the Xcel Center to stop the war and oppose the Republican agenda. Peace activists and anti-imperialists, veterans, trade union members, immigrant workers, low-income families, anti-police brutality and anti-globalization activists, communists and anarchists will march together. We will march to be heard, we will march to stop the war and we will march to show the world that real opposition exists to the Republican agenda.

U.S. out of Iraq now

Demand peace, justice and equality

Here's a video of Bambu doing his song Chairman Mao live at a block party.

Bambu Performing "Chairman Mao" at Block Party from Tadashi Nakamura on Vimeo.

Check out this new book of poetry for Palestine. It's for a great cause and includes so many amazing poets and artists that everyone should wanna get this.

Check it out here.
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According to news reports (another, and another, and another), Nepal's King Gyanendra has decided to "voluntarily" vacate the royal palace today, a few days before the deadline the leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), who recently swept the Constituent Assembly elections to form a new Nepali government, set for the official end of Nepal's monarchy (May 28).

This is a historic day! After all the claptrap about the "end of history", the "collapse of communism", and capitalism now supposedly being the only solution, etc etc etc, lets take note of the fact that in May 2008, a 10-year long armed struggle and mass movement led by communists has succeeded in driving a 250-year-long monarchy from power.

Here's an excerpt from the press coverage:

Kathmandu, May 23 (IANS) Nepal’s besieged King Gyanendra has left the Narayanhity royal palace from where his ancestors had ruled for generations, probably his final exit as the last king of a nearly 250-year dynasty. “The king left the palace for his summer residence Nagarjuna palace (about eight kilometres north of Kathmandu) around 9 p.m. Thursday,” said Kishore Shrestha, editor of the Nepali weekly Jana Aastha.

The tabloid, a close watcher of the royal family, had said Wednesday that the king, accompanied by his wife Queen Komal, would exit the palace Thursday in a bid to avoid an “undignified tussle with the rabble”.

Lets savor this victory, and give credit where credit is due -- to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and all the Nepali people who have fought and sacrificed for revolutionary change.

The future is bright!

The International Communist Seminar is an annual seminar held in Brussels, which brings together Marxist-Leninist parties and organizations from around the world to share views and experiences on key questions facing the international communist movement. This year's seminar was recently completed, and some of the key documents from this year's seminar have now been posted, along with many of the papers presented by parties at the seminar. Click here for the list of documents, resolutions and attendants of the 2008 Seminar.

Each year, the seminar has a different theme on which parties and organizations focus discussions. This year's theme was "The working class, its role and its mission today - The tasks and concrete experiences of the Communist Party in the working class and the trade union." The published General Conclusions from the seminar are here (link to Word doc), and the list of participating parties and organizations is here.

For background on the seminar, the 1999 Declaration puts forward the basic political orientation for parties participating in the seminar. It's an important document that fleshes out a Marxist-Leninist viewpoint and summation of key experiences in the communist movement, from Marx's time to the present. Another article putting forward the general political orientation of the seminar is Proposals for the Unification of the International Communist Movement. Also worth reading is Ludo Martens document On certain aspects of the struggle against revisionism: For the unity of all communists, in defence of proletarian internationalism (link to Word document).

The following article appeared in City Pages, a weekly newspaper in the Twin Cities. If anyone approaches you about cooperating with the police or FBI, don't tell them anything and call a lawyer immediately. The police spying on legal protest groups in the period leading up to the RNC protest in 2004 in New York City is well documented. For example see this NY Times article about spying in the period leading up to the 2004 RNC, or this Democracy Now segment on police spying during the 2004 RNC. And Alex Vitale delves into the nitty gritty of police tactics in response to the 2004 RNC protests in the context of other large protests in his paper Black and Blue: the Politics of Policing at the 2004 Republican National Convention Protests.

In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups

Moles Wanted

By Matt Snyders

Paul Carroll was riding his bike when his cell phone vibrated.

Once he arrived home from the Hennepin County Courthouse, where he’d been served a gross misdemeanor for spray-painting the interior of a campus elevator, the lanky, wavy-haired University of Minnesota sophomore flipped open his phone and checked his messages. He was greeted by a voice he recognized immediately. It belonged to U of M Police Sgt. Erik Swanson, the officer to whom Carroll had turned himself in just three weeks earlier. When Carroll called back, Swanson asked him to meet at a coffee shop later that day, going on to assure a wary Carroll that he wasn’t in trouble.

Carroll, who requested that his real name not be used, showed up early and waited anxiously for Swanson’s arrival. Ten minutes later, he says, a casually dressed Swanson showed up, flanked by a woman whom he introduced as FBI Special Agent Maureen E. Mazzola. For the next 20 minutes, Mazzola would do most of the talking.

“She told me that I had the perfect ‘look,’” recalls Carroll. “And that I had the perfect personality—they kept saying I was friendly and personable—for what they were looking for.”

What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant—someone to show up at “vegan potlucks” throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort’s primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division’s website, is to “investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines.”

Carroll would be compensated for his efforts, but only if his involvement yielded an arrest. No exact dollar figure was offered.

“I’ll pass,” said Carroll.

For 10 more minutes, Mazzola and Swanson tried to sway him. He remained obstinate.

“Well, if you change your mind, call this number,” said Mazzola, handing him her card with her cell phone number scribbled on the back.

(Mazzola, Swanson, and the FBI did not return numerous calls seeking comment.)

Carroll’s story echoes a familiar theme. During the lead-up the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, the NYPD’s Intelligence Division infiltrated and spied on protest groups across the country, as well as in Canada and Europe. The program’s scope extended to explicitly nonviolent groups, including street theater troupes and church organizations.

There were also two reported instances of police officers, dressed as protestors, purposefully instigating clashes. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, the NYPD orchestrated a fake arrest to incite protestors. When a blond man was “arrested,” nearby protestors began shouting, “Let him go!” The helmeted police proceeded to push back against the crowd with batons and arrested at least two. In a similar instance, during an April 29, 2005, Critical Mass bike ride in New York, video footage captured a “protestor”—in reality an undercover cop—telling his captor, “I’m on the job,” and being subsequently let go.

Minneapolis’s own recent Critical Mass skirmish was allegedly initiated by two unidentified stragglers in hoods—one wearing a handkerchief over his or her face—who “began to make aggressive moves” near the back of the pack. During that humid August 31 evening, officers went on to arrest 19 cyclists while unleashing pepper spray into the faces of bystanders. The hooded duo was never apprehended.

In the scuffle’s wake, conspiracy theories swirled that the unprecedented surveillance—squad cars from multiple agencies and a helicopter hovering overhead—was due to the presence of RNC protesters in the ride. The MPD publicly denied this. But during the trial of cyclist Gus Ganley, MPD Sgt. David Stichter testified that a task force had been created to monitor the August 31 ride and that the department knew that members of an RNC protest group would be along for the ride.

“This is all part of a larger government effort to quell political dissent,” says Jordan Kushner, an attorney who represented Ganley and other Critical Mass arrestees. “The Joint Terrorism Task Force is another example of using the buzzword ‘terrorism’ as a basis to clamp down on people’s freedoms and push forward a more authoritarian government.”

Filipino revolutionary labor leader 'Ka Bel' (Crispin Beltran) reportedly died today. He led a life of dedication to the struggle for the liberation of the Filipino people. He was a leader of the dynamic and militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Workers Movement), and died at the age of 75.

Here are some links, followed by a reprint of a blog post from a comrade of Ka Bel's who worked closely with him for 12 years.

PRESS STATEMENT - Working class hero Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran leaves a living legacy

Ka Bel, the Great Grand Old Man of Philippine Labor has passed away

Ka Bel ends lifelong struggle, dies fighting for poor Pinoys

RP loses veteran labor leader, staunch Arroyo critic

NUJP, Kilusan hail Crispin 'Ka Bel' Beltran

Reprinted from this site:

Crispin ‘Ka Bel’ Beltran, mahal kong boss at Kasama

My boss, favorite labor leader/mass leader, kaibigan and pinakamamahal na kasama Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran died earlier today, a little before noon after sustaining massive head injuries. No he wasn’t felled by bullets by assassins sent by the military or the government; he died because he hit his head on the pavement when he fell off the roof of his house in Bulacan. He was fixing it, most probably because it’s the typhoon season and he didn’t want to risk water leaking through fissures or cracks and flooding his and Ka Osang’s house.

Am trying to be calm about it, because in my grief I am angry. Angry because his death was so senseless — it’s silly even! Had his fall not been fatal and had he only broken a leg or a shoulder, the entire accident would have been turned into an anecdote, a cautionary tale - one of the stories one tells about the big hearted, kind, compassionate but often stubborn great labor leader that he is. Was. I wonder how long it will be until I begin referring to Ka Bel in the past tense?

But nevermind my anger. What happened — his being on the roof, a 75-year old man with a hammer, doing household work and making sure his home and family were safe from the rains — is (was?) so like Ka Bel. He lived and worked from day to day always with meaningful intent, with purpose, with the aim to protect and defend those he cared for and loved the most. And that purpose extended (oh how it it did reach outward and forward like an undeniable force of nature!) beyond his family — he embraced the working class, the Filipino people, and even the poor and oppressed of other nations.

He was a good guy. He liked to laugh- with others and even at himself. He laughed like a little boy with a good secret and he was tickled pink by it. He had a smile that made you forgive his sometimes outrageous comments (often directed against the likes of de facto president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, DOJ secretary Raul Gonzalez, national security adviser Noberto Gonzales and Executive secretary Eduardo Ermita as well as certain officials of the House of Representatives). He was self-effacing and self-deprecating when it came to his own achievements, and in his commitment and opposition against what he he referred to as ‘the evil government’ he was fierce and fearless. He was an internationalist, a man with the highest socialist ideals, and he lived and practiced what he believed in on a daily basis. He was a good father and husband, nevermind that he was never a good provider. He shared what he had with others, be it the last crumpled P20 bill in his battered wallet, or his wide knowledge of history, politics and economics. (Those who knew him best also knew better than to start a discussion with Ka Bel about the state of the nation or the state of the economy of whatever other country — Ka Bel loved discourse, and loved a healthy discussion. Often he’d risk being late for committee hearings or plenary because he’d gotten so involved in conversations with visitors. Thank goodness his staff are persistent - they had no qualms about dragging Ka Bel away and shooing him off to his appointments.)

I worked with and for Ka Bel for more than a decade. I became one of his staff when he was still the chairman of the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) back in 1995; and when he was elected to his first term as a party-list representative of Bayan Muna in 2001, I joined his office first as his media officer, and eventually as his chief of staff. This was a post I maintained when he got elected to his second and third term under Anakpawis until I moved to the NDFP-Nominated Section in the Joint Monitoring Commitee late in 2007. That’s a total of 12 years! I’m now 32, and I am proud to say that my most formative years as a writer, as an activist have been shaped and influenced by the likes of Ka Bel. Twelve years, and every day of it was a great honor to serve such a sincere, humble and highly-intelligent and deeply committed servant of the people.

I have to admit that this day is a day that I’ve long feared would come. Ka Bel wasn’t young, and he had diabetes and hypertension, and the last two years had been so stressful for him because of his unjust and illegal incarceration on trumped-up charges of rebellion. I feared that the day would come when I wouldn’t hear his voice anymore in the rallies or in the plenary hall of the House of Representatives. When I wouldn’t hear his laugh or see his smile and have him grasp my hand tightly in his as he asks how I’m doing. When the Philippine labor movement would lose its staunchest, most fearless leader.

Well, that day has arrived, and no matter how I’ve prepared myself for it mentally, emotionally it’s still quite, quite difficult to bear.